My Fake Boyfriend
by b4ndg33k
Summary: It started as just a lie to hide from an ex-boyfriend.  How was Lovina supposed to know at the time that she would end up falling for an obnoxious Spaniard?  And when her ex starts stalking, it's up to Antonio to protect his  fake girlfriend.
1. meetings and spurofthemoments

Three high school music departments had gotten together and decided to rent out the local theatre in the city and have a combined spring concert. They were just ambitious like that. Antonio watched the acts from backstage, while tuning his guitar. He and his two best friends would open for their school, World Series. Gilbert went to find some friend from another school, Eliza, or something like that. Francis was making sure that their pep section was in place, and Antonio had been assigned to scope out the competition. So far he couldn't say he had seen anything to write home about. He watched the last solo performer from White Valley high school prepare for her act.

She looked a few years younger than him, maybe a sophomore or freshman to his senior. She had brown hair cut shoulder length. Antonio felt like it would have looked like a bob, except it was nice and soft-looking, and wavy, and it was held away from her face by a green ribbon. She wore a blouse that looked new, as though it had been picked out especially for this occasion and a skirt that fell a few inches past her knees. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down before she stepped onto the stage. Antonio found it a bit cute, so he flashed a thumbs up at the girl and smiled, but if she saw him, she didn't show it.

The spot-light turned on and swiveled so it shone directly on her, making her lightly tanned skin appear translucent. She blinked a few times before taking the microphone from the performer who had gone before her.

"My name is Lovina Vargas, and I'm going to sing 'Jar of Hearts' by Christina Perri." Roderich, a boy in Antonio's own grade played the opening measures of accompaniment before Lovina opened her mouth and sang.

It was sad, mournful, soulful, desperate, several emotions rolled into one. Antonio had never heard anyone sing like that before. The entire audience, who had started to get restless after the rest of the concert, was just as struck as Antonio. Roderich's playing smoothly accented Lovina's singing perfectly, and once she was done she held out one arm, acknowledging the accompanist before giving a tiny curtsy and hurrying offstage, being deafened by the applause.

"That was amazing!" Lovina stopped short, her way blocked by some grinning idiot. She nodded brusquely (hey, facts were fact, she had just _killed_ that song, you know, in a good way) and tried to step around him, but he was blocking the narrow way. "I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." He announced proudly, holding out his hand. The vile-tempered girl raised an eyebrow, askance. Who on earth shook hands anymore?

"I announced what my name was earlier."

"Si! You're Lovina Vargas! I'm from World Series high, and I guess you were wrapping it up for White Valley, huh?" Up close, Antonio noticed that she had one curl that strayed erratically from her head band. He didn't notice his hand reaching up to move it behind her ear until she swatted his hand away and took a step back, careful not to enter the stage again.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

"Sorry, you've got a hair. . . Say, if you're not busy later-"

"I've got plans." She said evasively,

"That's too bad, I was thinking we could catch a movie or get married or something. . ." Antonio enjoyed swapping comments back and forth, it was kinda fun because he wasn't quite sure how cute Lovina would counter him.

"You want to get married because you liked my solo?"

"Married? Don't you think that's a little fast?"

"You're the one who said it! Chigi!" Lovina turned crimson, which Antonio found utterly adorable, and it took him a few moments to respond.

"Huh?"

"It slipped out, buddy." Another stupid voice said. Antonio turned and greeted two boys; one had long wavy blonde hair and some stubble on his chin, the other one was pale, with white hair and red eyes, an albino. He was the one who had first spoken.

"Oh, Gil, Franny I didn't notice you two here!" Antonio turned to address the cute Lovina. "Well, we could catch a movie or go eat something . . ." he trailed off listening to the pitter patter of feet coming. Then a girl who looked almost exactly like Lovina peered around Antonio anxiously. She was maybe an inch shorter, with brown hair that leaned towards auburn, and her curl stuck out on the other side of her head. Her skin was also a few shades lighter than the pretty tan that Lovina had.

"_Sorella_, you were amazing! But, um, we should probably go now. . ." Lovina shoved past the rude boy and took her sister's arm ignoring his two weird friends.

"What's wrong, Feli?" The sister squirmed and looked around nervously.

"I was getting popcorn to eat because you were the last one from our school, and so I went to the lobby and I got popcorn, with extra butter, but they didn't have any salt, so they went and got some salt, and I put it on the popcorn, but then I saw-" Lovina stiffened when a boy who looked like he was Antonio's age approach, doing the stupid slow clap thing.

"What are you doing here? This area's only for the performers." She demanded, glad they had thought to move behind the stage where their conversation couldn't disturb them setting up for the next school performing.

"What? Are you saying a guy can't come to congratulate his girl for a song she sung for him?" The sister, Feli, shuffled nervously, making 'Ve~' noises and Lovina bristled. How dare that ass say that in front of these complete strangers!

"I broke up with your sorry ass weeks ago, and I _didn't_ sing that song for you." He raised an eyebrow sardonically.

"Oh? Who else would you sing for?" Struck by an impulse, Lovina took Antonio's hand and stood beside him.

"Maybe I sang it for my boyfriend. Maybe it was for my sister. Either way, there's no way I would sing for _you_." She hoped that her stupid ex would take the hint from the distain dripping off of her tone, but he just chuckled.

"_This_ guy is your boyfriend?" He asked, looking Antonio up and down.

"_S__í_, she said yes after I serenaded her. But _mi prencesa_ has a point, unless you're a performer, you should get out." Antonio let go of Lovina's hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him. He was a little confused, but if Lovi didn't like this guy, and he scared her, then he would go along with it. Besides, it's not like he really _minded_ being this close to her.

"Sure, I'll be outside. Just remember, babe, I'm not going to give up so easily." A pale hand grasped the red-head's shoulder.

"I _know_ you're not talking about stealing my friend's girl right in front of him, right Francis?" This time there was nothing friendly about the albino's smile, and both of the Vargas sisters felt unnerved but the sudden lack of humor in his blood-red eyes.

"_Oui_ that would just be rude." The blond who turned out to be French also seemed a little dangerous now, his sentence coming out closer to a growl than a purr, which they would later recognize as one of his idiosyncrasies. Antonio rested his head on Lovina's shoulder, smelling her hair. "I think you've overstayed your welcome." The red-headed ex-boyfriend snorted again and stalked out of the green room where performers were encouraged to wait and hangout before and after their turn on stage. Once he was safely out of sight, Lovina pushed Antonio away and pulled out her wallet.

"Well that was fucking uncomfortable. Feli, next time just grab me and pull me out of the building before he shows up."

"Ve~ sorry, _Sorella_, I just can't shut up when I'm nervous. Do you think he'll try anything?"

"That coward wouldn't do anything unless he had friends with him." She pulled out a five dollar bill and shoved it at the confused Antonio. "Here, now we're even."

"Huh?" Antonio felt a little bad that his vocabulary seemed to disappear when he looked directly at the cute Lovina.

"You stood in as my fake boyfriend, so I'm paying you, and now we're even. Feli, we're out."

"Wait! How about instead you watch me and my friends perform! We're a band, and-" she cut out his babbling.

"Maybe." Without another word she took her sister's hand and pulled her along.

"Ve~ it was nice to meet you! I'm Felicia Vargas, and thanks for helping _Sorella_!" Lovina snorted and pushed open the door leading from the back-stage area to the hallway, which lead to the parking lot and the auditorium. The last thing she wanted was for her or her sister to get buddy-buddy with three weird guys. She winced inwardly when she saw that That Guy was waiting for them.

"So are you ditching your fake boyfriend already?" He asked, black eyes glittering at them from where he was posing against the wall, one leg bent against it, arms crossed over his chest. Lovina flipped him the bird and tugged on her sister's hand.

"No, it's just better to watch Antonio and his band from the audience." To her eternal annoyance That Guy followed behind them, close enough to make Feli sweat, but far enough away that Lovina couldn't justify turning around and decking him.

"Oh? What kind of music do they play?" he asked, the amusement in his voice showing them all that he was testing Lovina.

"Fuck you!" she threw over her shoulder. Her sister looked at her, stunned that her sister would tell her something like that. "Not you, Feli." The relief on Felicia's face was clear for everyone to see.

"Is that an offer?" Really, it was like she was spoon feeding him these opportunities.

"Go to Hell," with that they were in the auditorium and Lovina scanned the empty seats, looking for two together. She found some in the third row from the front, in between a tall blond guy and another guy with curly brown hair who appeared to be asleep. That Guy seemed put out, and he grabbed a seat by the door in the back. Felicia noticed and cheered up considerably. Lovina told herself that she would just watch Antonio and his stupid boy band, and then she and her sister would ditch, and hopefully use that Taser she had hidden in her purse on That Guy.

She looked up at the stage and watched the blond French guy set up keyboards, the albino position a drum set, and Antonio finish tuning his guitar. Feli leaned over to whisper in her sister's ear.

"_Sorella_, he's hot!" Lovi started a little, before she noticed that Feli was talking about the guy she was sitting next to, instead of the Spanish guy up on stage. Not that she was overly-looking at him or anything. Where would you get a stupid idea like that from?

"What, this guy?" Lovina asked sardonically, leaning around her sister to get a better look at the blond guy sitting there, who was looking extremely uncomfortable at the sisters' conversation. "Please, just look at him! I bet he eats forty-fucking potato's a day! Can't you tell he's nothing but a damn Potato Bastard?"

"Hey, everybody! I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, and my _amigo_ on the drums is Gilbert Beilschmidt, and my other _amigo_ on piano-"

"They're called keyboards, _Mon Ami_!"

"Yeah, he's Francis Bonnefoy! And together we make the Bad Friends Trio!" it seemed like most of the people from World Series high school cheered enthusiastically. Lovina rolled her eyes, then stiffened when Antonio caught her eye. The jerk winked at her, and looked like he was about to say something when Gilbert grabbed the mike away from him.

"Hey! Hey! West! West!" Gilbert waved enthusiastically, trying to get someone's attention. The boy sitting next to Feli face-palmed, muttering in German under his breath. That was another strike against him in Lovina's book. Ugh, _German_.

"Yo! West, can you hear me? Can you see me? Can you see me? It's your awesome big brother, West!" the poor boy nodded and tried to look like he otherwise didn't know the albino making a fool out of himself on stage. Antonio snatched the microphone back and proudly declared

"Our first song is for _mi Querida_, sitting there in the third row!" He pointed enthusiastically at her, and everyone around stared at her. Oh. My. God. Lovina was going to be committing a homicide tonight.

"_Querida_, can you see me?" he waved, and Lovina tried to scoot down lower in her seat, even though by now her head was level with her knees.

"At this time, I don't have anyone I want to publically embarrass in the audience, particularly in the third row," Francis said in an amused voice, having taken the mike away from Antonio. Lovina was sure she didn't hear the entire row sigh in relief.

"Well, the point is that the first song is for Lovina Vargas, my super-mega-awesome-foxy-hot girlfriend. I love you!" Antonio stole the microphone back, but thankfully started the song before one of the annoyed music teachers could shoo them off the stage.

Lovina's eyebrows furrowed. "Feli, do you recognize what song they're playing?"

The German boy leaned over to answer for her sister, to Lovi's annoyance. "_Bruder_ and his friends only perform original songs. He says it's because it insults his 'awesomeness' to copy someone else's song." That was strike three, interrupting her sister like that. The nerve.

To her horror, however, Lovina was mildly impressed. Not that she would ever admit it under pain of death. She looked back up at the stage and watched them play. They were a solid group, she supposed, giving credit where it was due. All three of them swapped up who sang which lyrics during which song, though the other Potato Bastard's voice was too scratchy, and the French guy's was too oily. Antonio's was acceptable, she supposed.

Once they finished their set, Lovina noticed that a lot of girls were calling Antonio's name, although Feli later pointed out to her sister when they were trying to get to sleep later that night that they were also calling for Gilbert and Francis. But the moral of the story was that once they were through, Lovina took her sister's hand again (what, her younger sister had a habit of running around if Lovi didn't keep a tight leash on her, stop judging!) and tugged her up the aisle. She was going to have to find a new fake boyfriend, because she was murdering Antonio Fernandez Carriedo.

She stopped short though, realizing that That Guy was scanning the aisle, waiting for her and her sister to exit. She looked back and saw the Potato-Jerk still sitting in his seat. "Hey, you." She demanded crossly. He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"My name's Ludwig." He said, introducing himself politely. The younger sister answered him happily.

"Ve~ nice to meet you! I'm Felicia Vargas, and this is my _Sorella_ Lovina!"

"Yeah, you're going back stage to congratulate your stupid brother for making an ass out of himself on stage." The younger sister, Felicia took his hand, making those strange noises. And so Ludwig found himself marched out of the auditorium without getting the chance to ask why. He did notice that Felicia clung to him when they approached the doorway, and the elder one, Lovina stiffened, keeping her eyes determinedly forward, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

Once they were back stage, Ludwig found himself the victim of a noogie, his brother cackling about "Did you see me? We were Awesome!" He pulled off the arm holding his head, twisting it behind his older brother's back for a moment, just to prove he could, before releasing Gilbert, pushing him a little away from him.

"Did I do something to you, _Bruder_?" Gilbert stopped to consider it for a moment before shaking his head in the negative.

"Nah, I just realized on stage that I hadn't done anything to mess with you yet today, but now I'm good for the next week." Francis and Antonio wandered over, attracted by the sound of Gilbert's voice.

"Lovi! Did you hear us? What did you think? We dedicated the first song to you, and-" Antonio was cut off by a fist to the shoulder that tickled more than hurt.

"You jerk! What were you thinking, announcing to the entire city, pretty much, that we're going out! You block-head! Idiot!" Antonio realized that his girlfriend (she was fake, but only for now) was fighting tears.

"_Lo Siento, Mi Amor_, I just thought that if we made it clear we were going out that guy would take a hint-"

"I've been trying that for two months! He'd never give up that easily. And how am I supposed to show my face at school tomorrow! What am I supposed to tell my friends?" Antonio wrapped his arms around Lovi, pulling her close in a hug.

"Then I'll just have to stick around until he gets it, _¿__S__í_? And we'll tell our friends the truth. Just don't worry about what anyone else says, _Querida_." To his delight, Lovi allowed the hug for a moment, relaxing in his arms for a few seconds before pushing him away.

"Wait, are you not really dating Lovina?" Ludwig was completely lost.

"Right, West. Well Toni fell in love with her after that song she sang, and he was asking her to marry him when her cute sister comes up. . ." Gilbert explained their current situation, and when he was done, Antonio looked at Lovina, confused.

"So the reason why you were upset was because I announced to everyone who goes to our schools, and St. Wisteria" (the third school who had rented out the playhouse with their schools to have a combined concert) "that we were going out, and you're embarrassed?"

"You're an idiot and I'm going to castrate you."

"_Querida_, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, I'm not ugly, and I'll treat you right, and-"

"Seriously, just stop talking before I hit you." She hated it when he talked like a stupid romantic. That's why her face was so red, because of fury. Yeah.

"Aww, Lovi's face is just as red as a tomato!" Antonio cooed, stroking the side of her face with one hand. She took an instinctual step back, and Feli perked up from where she had been chatting with Ludwig.

"Ve~ do you like tomatoes too? _Sorella_ is obsessed with them!" Antonio pretty much could have powered the city from the energy of his bright smile.

"Really?" He was so happy, it turned out that they had something in common.

"That's it, this time we're leaving for real." Feli sighed, disappointed. She had really wanted to talk more with Ludwig and his funny brother and his friends, but when _Sorella_ got that tone of voice it meant that she should do as she said without question. "Ve~ I guess I'll see you around, Ludwig!" He smiled a little, but mainly blushed and awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. It was so cute!

**(A/N: just in case somebody was confused, I don't own any nyotalia or hetalia characters, or anything much really . . . muchos gracias to my nee-sama maya-chan2007 for beta-ing for me, apologies to the lovely people who read my (fail!) stories before (I've deleted them, for the health of fanfiction.) Also, thanks to mywritingalias for encouraging me and getting me to work up the nerve to post this. I really hope you all like it!)**

**(Edit: so I'm going through and re-editing my chapters because a lot of people have given me corrections and translation mistakes that Beta-sama and I didn't catch, so I apologize to people who might have gotten their hopes up for a new chapter.)**


	2. repercussions

Lovina and Felicia stood at the front gate of White Valley High School, holding hands for the moment. It wasn't that Lovina liked holding hands with her sister or anything, but if she didn't her stupid little sister (they were only three minutes apart, but that didn't matter since she was the oldest) was bound to go wander off and get lost or mugged. Both had happened within the last month, so Lovina wasn't going to let go until Feli was in her first class.

Neither sister had more than a chance for a deep breath before Lovi was grabbed from behind and swung around in a bear hug. She struggled and kicked until she realized that her assailant smelled of hamburgers. "Why didn't you tell the Hero that you were going out with one of the Bad Touch? Even if you're just in the talking phase, I could have given you the DL on them!" Alfred whined, hanging from the girl's neck. Felicia giggled.

"Ve~ there wasn't really time to tell anyone." Alfred barely heard the nicer, sweeter sister with the older one cursing up a storm in both English and Italian.

"Wait, what's a bad touch?" Lovi asked, not sure she liked the sound of the name Alfred let slip. "And how do you know those guys, anyway?" Alfred chuckled but looked around suspiciously. Lovina felt her blood run cold before grabbing Matthew's (who had 'shown' up out of nowhere…again) hand and Alfred's arm, towing them into the school, down the hall, and into the girl's rest room. Luckily her sister had followed, and the four of them squeezed themselves into the handi-capable stall.

Lovi didn't feel guilty; it wasn't like there was a handi-capable girl in their school at the moment, and where else was she supposed to have a private conversation with the only other twins in school without That Guy following? Besides, the Jones-Williams twins had been in the girl's room (supervised by one of the Vargas girls, of course) more times than Lovi could count. She (and her sister, who added in a few things that Lovi forgot) gave the Jones-Williams twins the story of what happened at the music concert. When the two of them were finished, Matthew's face was amazed, and Alfred gave a low whistle.

"Man, at least you chose the right BFT to use. See, Mattie and I know Francis because he and this other guy, Arthur Kirkland, pretty much raised us, you know how mom and dad are always jet-setting-"

"Al, they're business people, not jet-setters, eh!"

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what they tell us in the postcards. Anyway, that's how I know Francis. Do you remember last semester when I filmed that amazing musical?" Alfred was famous for carrying around his camera, looking for 'the next big thing' to film.

"Yeah, you called it House Rules, or Rent, or something. You were constantly bugging the two of us to be in it." Lovina rolled her eyes. How was she supposed to be in a stupid movie if she was running around after her sister, avoiding That Guy, and taking care of the house (okay, she admit that Feli did most of that stuff, but it wasn't her fault that whenever she tried to clean it looked like a tornado had swept the house apart! Besides, she was trying to maintain a decent GPA, so they could forget it!)

"Yeah, well their band agreed to provide the music, and Gilbert and Francis both played roles. But like I said, you're lucky you grabbed Antonio. See, Francis is a decent guy, but . . . he's a pervert. And Gilbert's awesome to party with, but . . . he's kind of crazy. They all kind of are, but still."

"So what's the deal with Antonio?" Why did his stupid name have to sound so . . . so . . .?

"Spanish?" Alfred tried to fill in, startling Lovina. She wasn't aware that last bit was out loud.

"Sexy?" Felicia giggled, earning a glare from her older sister.

"No. I was going for annoying." She huffed, looking away embarrassed whenever even Matthew looked like he didn't believe her.

"Well . . . we all heard somewhere (I think it might have been Lars, but I'm not sure) that he was asexual, but I guess you proved us all wrong." Alfred crossed his arms, still a little put out that his friend hadn't turned to him and let him be the hero.

"Oh come on! It was a stupid spur of the moment idea, and he was the closest one! Besides, That Guy sees us every day at school. He wouldn't have believed that you and I were going out anyway. And don't you think it would be gross, I mean, we're just friends!"

Alfred shuffled on his feet a little. "Yeah, I guess. But you guys all know that I'm still the hero, right?"

Matthew sighed, and said quietly "Of course, how could we think differently?" The minute bell rang, signaling that the four teenagers had a minute to get to class, so they hurriedly said goodbye and the girls hurried off. Matthew hesitantly touched his brother's elbow. "Are you okay, Al?"

"Yeah, of course! Hero's don't sulk just because someone swooped in and stole the glory! So c'mon, Mattie, before we get another detention for being late." Alfred grinned like a maniac and pulled his brother out of the stall, surprising a few other girls who had come in to touch up their make-up in the mirrors.

Unfortunately for the brothers, a teacher caught them coming out of the girl's bathroom, so they got a detention anyway ("Gosh darn it, Al!"). But the sisters luckily made it to their first class in the nick of time. It was Lovina's least favorite class because That Guy sat in the front and stared at her the entire time. Thankfully, she sat in the back so he couldn't watch the whole time, but it still made the hairs on her arm stand on end. The other girls (and a few boys) in class were also paying attention, apparently unable to believe that sour Lovina had managed to grab the affection of one of the infamous Bad Friends Trio. The three of them were famous even at St. Wisteria's and White Valley. Lovina ignored the whispers and stares from her classmates, throwing herself into her seat in between Felix and Toris. She really hoped they didn't notice her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

"Like, there you are! Liet and I have been, like, totes worried 'bout you! What happened at the music festival?" Felix demanded the second she sat down. Toris nodded emphatically, which set her anger on edge. Sure she had sworn off men, but that didn't mean her friends had to act like a nuclear bomb had gone off or something.

Also, didn't they realize that That Guy was in this class? He could hear everything Felix said in his loud voice. "Well, for starters, I killed my song, you know, in a good way. I didn't really want to go with that particular one, but Antonio thought it would be the best way to send the message across." Lovina allowed herself an eye roll. "It wasn't super-effective."

"Wait a tick! Are you, like, totes trying to tell me that you've been lip-locking Antonio for longer than the weekend? Spill girl! Gimmie the 411!" Lovina smiled a little. Now would be the chance to spread the story. Felix was sweet, but like Felicia he couldn't keep a secret (that didn't concern them) for more than five minutes without having to tell somebody.

"Fine, remember that musical Alfred filmed last semester?"

"Yeah, both Felix and I had parts in it. It was fun." Toris smiled a little at the memories of filming and getting to know the other students in the film.

"Yeah, well the Bad Friends were doing music for that, and Alfred introduced me and Antonio. He was…interested, but at the time I had just broken up with…That Guy, and I didn't want to date anyone just yet. He was really persistent, though, and he serenaded me." A blush rose to her cheeks, remembering Antonio's part of the lie. That jerk didn't really need to run with it so quickly. "You guys know how I like romantic crap like that, so I said yes." Now was the test. If Felix didn't believe it, no one would.

"And why couldn't you have, like, TOLD ME! I thought we were BFFWTGOTG (Best Friends Forever Who Totally Go Out, Talk, and Gossip)!" Lovina thought that she really should consider being an actress when she grew up.

"Oh come on, Felix," she pleaded, "you know how I am with PDA. If I didn't put a gag order on our relationship, Antonio probably would've yelled it from the rooftops." Lovina noticed Felix sniffing a little, and sealed the deal by 'sneaking' a look over to That Guy who was trying to pretend he wasn't listening. "Besides, who knows what he would have done?" The shiver that Lovina, well, shivered wasn't an act. She was worried that that idiot might try something. Felix nodded sagely, Toris elbowed them both, signaling that the teacher was trying to get the class' attention, and Lovina leaned back, pleased at watching the story already starting to spread throughout the class.

*~X~*

Antonio sat in his own first period class and tugged regretfully at his tie. Monday just came too soon, bringing with it the uncomfortable obligatory school uniform, tedious classes, and homework. The Spaniard sighed, leaning back in his desk; maybe he could kill time by writing a song about it? He mused with a guitar lead, drawing lines on his notebook to create a hasty page of sheet music. He started toying around with a bridge when his thoughts (and inspiration) were broken by a group of girls entering the classroom, gossiping amongst themselves.

"No way, I don't believe it! I mean, the BFT are, like, religiously single, and she's not even pretty! Sure, she's got a singing voice, but all of the choir girls have already tried, so I don't see what the deal is!"

Gilbert, who sat next to Antonio in a similar state of boredom, was startled out of his stupor by one of Antonio's contradictions. One side of his mouth quirked up into a smirk, but his eyes narrowed dangerously, glinting at the girls gossiping. Gilbert, being not only Awesome but one of Antonio's oldest and closest friends could read the pleasure at the mention of Lovina in his pleased smirk, but his anger from the other girls putting 'his girlfriend' down from the look in his eyes. Whistling lowly, Gilbert leaned back in his chair and nudged Antonio with his ankle. His friend jumped a little, startled out of his musings. His gaze softened when he looked at his friend, smile growing back to his normal happy levels. "Hmm?"

"Dude, are you really serious about that 'Lovi' chick?" Gilbert could see the attraction, she was a damsel in distress who thought she was invincible with the voice of an angel, she was very cute, and of course she was pretty much the definition of feisty. But Gilbert hadn't seen Antonio show any sign of liking anybody, male or female, since he had broken up with Femke, his Belgian girlfriend of two years.

"Of course! Hey, do you think she'd be in the phone book? I was thinking of calling and giving her my phone number in case she ever needed to call me. What do you think?"

"I think it's about fucking time you realized that there are people to get horny over again." Gilbert said bluntly. The Awesome perked up happily when his friend Mathias came in the classroom and sat in front of him.

"Dude, sorry I missed out on the concert over the weekend. Norge told me about how this girl from White Valley killed this song and then 'Tonio announced to the city that they were going out! C'mon, man! Give a brother some details!"

Antonio straightened a little in his seat when he realized that Mathias was looking at him, expecting an answer. Sure, he liked the Danish guy alright, but he was more Gilbert's friend than his. As a matter of fact, Francis and Antonio didn't really like him that much, since he was always dragging Gilbert off to play with him, Arthur, or Alfred instead of playing with the two of them or practicing. He thought quickly for a few seconds, trying to figure out a story that would fly.

"Do you remember last semester when Alfred Jones from White Valley made a musical? The Bad Friends Boy Band provided the background music for it?"

"Oh yeah, he was bugging me to take a roll in it, but Norge was having issues with Ice at the time. . ." he trailed off, remembering when Ice was diagnosed with diabetes. Norge had taken the role of 'over protective big brother' from Vash Zwigli, and even now, everyone knew better than to look funny in Ice's general direction if you didn't want Norge, Mathias, and Berwald's collective rage to fall on you. Not to mention Tino. Never, ever upset Tino; sure, he looked all cute, sweet, and innocent (and he was), but he was also very scary when motivated. "Anyway, yeah I'd heard about it."

"Well, Alfred's friends with Lovi and her sister," it was a safe bet, since Alfred would declare himself to be friends with anyone who was in the room at the time, "He wanted them for a role, but Lovi gets camera shy." Antonio paused to chuckle at the thought. "We met during the filming, but she wouldn't agree to go out with me until I serenaded her." Antonio felt a stirring of unease. He probably should have conferred with Lovi to come up with a cover story, but they would just have to fly with this.

More people started shuffling in, and Mathias went to talk with Berwald who was carrying his boyfriend Tino's books. Within the hour, Gilbert had no doubt that his buddy would spread the story to everyone he met.

"You're a regular evil genius, Antonio."

"I try" Antonio shrugged his shoulders modestly accepting the praise. The teacher finally arrived and called the class to order. Antonio tried to take notes, but he was interrupted when Femke passed a note to him, asking for details about his new girlfriend. Antonio paused before writing back. It had been an awkward breakup, and Lars, Femke's brother, still held a grudge even though his sister and Antonio were now as thick as thieves. They were close enough that she would be able to tell if he lied, and wouldn't accept that. So he wrote down the entire story, taking up about half a page including his plea/ demand that she never tell anyone, before carefully tossing the folded piece of paper into her lap without letting the teacher see while he was consulting his notes on the lecture.

*~X~*

The two students' day never strayed from the usual Monday pattern, with the exception of students gossiping about their newest relationship. Lovina went to choir and ignored both the other girls whispering and shooting looks over at her, and her sister's constant whispers to not pay attention to them, they were just jealous that she had a hot boyfriend (Fake!Boyfriend, Lovina corrected her), and that she had the prettiest singing voice there. The people in Band were more easy-going, though they started a new piece that was rather difficult, almost as though it had been written by some psychotic bastard who was rolling in his grave, laughing at the future generations, laughing at their misery when they saw his piece.

Antonio good-naturedly ignored the other boys as they teased him by saying things like 'and all this time we thought you were flamboyantly asexual!' Somehow everyone had seemingly forgotten that he had gone out with Femke for two years. Perhaps that rumor was one that Lars had spread in retaliation for dumping his sister? Who really knew anymore…?

The point is, they both made it through their respective Mondays, and once the final bell rang Lovi was tackled by her sister. "Ve~ Sorella! Before we go home, let's go to the mall and pick up some paint for my new art project!"

Lovina rolled her eyes scoffing, but gently pried her sister's arms off of her. "And why can't you just use the paint in the art room?" she was in a sour mood and just wanted to go home and maybe take a nap, but Feli only giggled, unaware of her sister's attitude.

"Because I wanted to work on it at home, but we don't have any water colors at home!" And thus the elder Vargas sister was dragged to the mall (there was literally almost nowhere else to shop for anything in the city, which sounded very weird when you thought about it). Alfred and Matthew caught them at the doors and thought that an outing sounded like fun, especially Alfred when Felicia let slip that heroes carried bags for ladies. After all, how else was he supposed to prove to Lovina that he was the hero?

The group of four made it to the mall by forging a note from the Italian twin's grandfather giving them permission to ride the bus to the Jones-Williams twins' house. From there they caught a city bus and rode until they got to the stop two blocks away from the mall. It was a short walk, but unfortunately it seemed that they hadn't managed to beat the after school rush from Wisty's and World Series. Felicia and Alfred both liked crowds, and were chattering happily, caught up in it all. Lovina and Matthew didn't like being pressed in by people on all sides. Matthew found it too easy to be swept away since he had never been that noticeable. Lovina was anti-social and hated people in general, the hustle and bustle around her making her unsure of herself and claustrophobic.

So Matthew and Lovina found themselves waiting in the atrium in the center of the mall by the fountain, waiting for their more charismatic twins to return with the necessary art supplies. It was a little awkward, the two of them sitting on the bench, trying to blend in with the other groups of teenagers surrounding them. Matthew looked at Lovina wrapping her arms around her middle, glaring at everyone within fifteen feet of them. Laughing a little he leaned closer so she would be able to hear his quiet voice over the oppressing chatter pressing in on them.

"I'm going to go get some coffee; do you want any, eh?"

"Yeah, get me a medium Latte, with none of that whip cream nonsense." The teenage girl dug through her backpack, finding her wallet and pulling out enough money to cover her order.

"I'll be back soon, Ro-Lovina." She glared at him for almost using her first name. That Guy had called her that, and every possible nickname derived from it, so after she broke it off with him, she decided to make everyone use her middle name. Yes, it was childish and petty of her, and she hated conceding that much power to That Guy, but she couldn't stand hearing anyone else calling her by that name.

Matthew walked away, carefully skirting to the edges and fringes of groups, his path taking him halfway around the atrium before making in to the branch that was the food court. Once he was out of sight, Lovina got up, stretching a little. It had been a long Monday, cramped into one uncomfortable desk after another, then being squeezed into two different buses. She heard the satisfying crack of her shoulders and back realigning and allowed a tiny smile.

Suddenly an arm draped itself across her shoulders, and a deep Spanish accented voice in her ear purred "There's a creeper at your six o'clock." Antonio (who else could it be?) pulled back, grinning at her indignant squawk of protest and said loudly "Sorry it took me so long to meet you, mi amor; it was harder than I thought to ditch Gil and Franny."

"It took you long enough! Jeez, I only just got rid of Matthew, so I guess it's not totally your fault." Carefully Lovina ducked out from under his arm and stood so she could see behind him. Sure enough, she recognized That Guy's leather jacket ducking out of sight. She swallowed a little and didn't shove Antonio away when he took her hand in his.

"So did you come here with friends? Gilbert said that a favorite CD of his was coming out today, but his abuelo wouldn't let him out of school, so he dragged us after him once we got out of class." He leaned in closer to faux kiss her again, whispering "it's okay, don't look so nervous." He smiled comfortingly at her, making her face heat up. Antonio cooed about her looking so much like a tomato, which she batted aside, preoccupied.

"My sister wanted to get some paint for a stupid art project and she conned Alfred Jones, and his brother Matthew Williams into coming to carry the bags. The two of them left me and Matthew, so we were chilling, but he went to go grab coffee." Lovina started going through her bag, looking for her cell phone.

"Oh cool, I know Alfred and his brother from that musical he filmed last semester; I didn't realize you were friends with them. What are you looking for, Quierda?" damn Antonio Fernandez Carriedo for having that stupid Spanish accented voice and making her feel safe, and happy, and adored.

"My phone, I'm texting Feli to get her ass over here so we can go home."

For the first time since she had met him, Antonio frowned and gently tugged the cell away from her hand. "Don't do that, it's like you're letting him win if you run away. Stay with me and my friends, I'll keep you safe, and-"

"What the hell?" Alfred F. Jones exclaimed, seeing his girl-who-happened-to-be-a-friend with a guy clinging to her. Antonio turned at the noise and vocalized his delight at seeing Felicia and Alfred again.

"Hey Alfred! It's been a while! And it's even little Felicia! What's up?" he moved his hand from Lovina's hand to her waist, pulling her closer. In a low voice he murmured without moving his lips "at your five o'clock, Alfred." He received the barest of nods from Alfred who kicked Felicia's ankle when she tried to turn and look. He ignored Lovina's glare at him for how he treated her sister and asked loudly "So where did Mattie get off to?"

He looked around, nudging Feli to give his approval for her to do the same. Lovina rolled her eyes. Alfred and Antonio were both acting like they were in some kind of spy movie. They spotted him skulking behind the cotton candy machine, trying to blend in with the parents foolishly getting sugary treats for their children.

"You two were taking too long, so he went to go get some coffee."

"Oh, okay. Say, Antonio, did Francis and Gilbert come with you today?"

"Si! I left them when I saw Lovi in trouble though . . . we were going to get a CD for Gilbert, so I bet they're at the music store!"

"No shit, Sherlock." Lovina scoffed, shifting her weight awkwardly.

"Hey, want to say hello? I don't think we've seen each other since filming ended." Alfred and Felicia agreed, so Antonio led them around, looking for the music store. They had moved some of the stores around since the last time the group of four had been to the mall, so none of them were sure where the music store was now. Alfred reasoned that they should start on the fourth floor (which was the highest) and work their way down, so they climbed onto the escalator, looking around on their way up for a familiar store front.

About halfway up the second floor, Lovina realized that Antonio still had her hand, and he only squeezed her hand reassuringly when she tried halfheartedly to pull away. He smiled at her with those stupid soft green eyes and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb, humming an abstract tune to himself idly. Turning red randomly, Lovina turned away, trying to avoid those green, green eyes.

Antonio couldn't stop looking at Lovina. It had to be fate that they would meet again so soon after the music concert! Her hand was warm in his, no longer trembling at the thought of That Guy . . . now that he thought about it, Antonio didn't know his name. He would have to ask Lovi's cute-but-not-as-cute-as-Lovi-is sister later. He was distracted again, marveling at just how soft her skin was (though he noticed a few callouses on her palm and fingers), how absurdly long her eyelashes were, and how cute she looked with a luminescent blush turning her face tomato red. Her honey -colored eyes were averted, trying to hide her red face in shyness. Lovi was so cute, Antonio wasn't sure he could hold himself back!

"Ooh, sorella! Look over there!" And suddenly Feli grabbed Lovina's other hand and pulled her off the escalator and towards a shop.

"Those dresses are so cuute! We've got to try some!" Feli cooed. Lovina scowled and yanked her hands back, crossing them across her chest. Antonio immediately missed the warmth from her palm against his.

"Idiot, we're looking for his loser friends. Besides, you know I hate dresses, when would I ever wear one? And unless you brought your wallet, it's not like we could actually buy any of them!"

"But Lovi," Felicia pouted, "you look so cute in them! Besides, you could wear this one-" she pulled one off of a hanger in her and her sister's size that looked more like it should be a shirt rather than a dress, waving it in front of her sister's face teasingly "-on a date with Antonio!" And Lovina found herself shoved into a changing room with the dress. She, of course, tried to push her way out but Felicia held the door shut from the other side.

"Ve~ we'll let you out once you try it on, so we can all see it!" Feli called in from the other side of the door. A stream of curses in Italian and English met Alfred and Antonio's ears, but they were used to it by now, so they just waited patiently for her to finish. After a minute or two an embarrassed, huffy voice called back "I'm freaking done, let me out already, Felicia!" With a 'Ve~', Feli jumped away from the door, letting it swing open to reveal Lovi.

The boys' eyes stared at her glowing red face and worked their way down to her chest, following the neckline that was low enough to be interesting and make Lovi uncomfortable, but high enough it didn't look slutty or obscene. The dress was tight around her waist, accenting her curves before flaring out around the skirt.

"I hate this! It's too high!"

"Ve~ it's fine, it shows off your legs!'

"That's the problem! And you two! Stop drooling! Chigi!" Lovina hid in the dressing room again, changing back. Antonio was slightly confused though. He hadn't been drooling . . . just bleeding from his nose a little. He looked at Alfred curiously, and sure enough, a small trail of saliva was dangling off of his chin. At Antonio's pointed look, Alfred blinked once or twice and hastily wiped it off.

"Ve~ Sorella has such pretty legs!" The younger twin looked at the boys while she said this, mischief plain to see in her twinkling eyes. She bounced in between the two awkward teens, grinning a cat-like smile that reminded Antonio of Femke's.

"Ah hahaha, I guess I never really noticed!" Alfred scratched the back of his head, trying to pretend he hadn't been checking out Lovina.

"Ve~? Then what were you doing on the bus over here? Oh well, Antonio was thinking about going out on a date with Lovi in that dress!"

"Well, maybe." Antonio was starting to feel uncomfortable with Felicia's teasing, and he kept looking at Alfred surprised. He hadn't expected that he would have a rival at Lovina's own school! The door to the dressing room slammed open, and Lovina stood there in the clothes she had been wearing earlier, hands on her hips, scowling at the three of them.

"Can we go now? I want to get out of this hell-hole before it closes." The boys shifted, a little uncomfortable under her glare, but Felicia (who was used to it by now) just laughed and clung to her sister's arm, whining.

"But sorella, there's so many more dresses to try!"

"Do I look like a dress-up-doll to you? You know what, don't answer that question." Knowing her sister…that was actually very likely. Lovina looked over at the boys, hoping for help, but Alfred was looking away, wiping at his mouth again, and Antonio had a tiny bit of red across his cheeks, smiling that stupid dopy smile that made her lips loosen a little, trying to twist upwards on their own. She kept them in place, scowling when she noticed that he held up another dress.

"Look Lovi, this one matches your eyes!" At least this one went to her knees and wouldn't have been too tight.

"No. Effing. Way." Antonio scratched the back of his head, chuckling while Felicia pulled out her wallet and ran away to pay for the dress that Lovina had tried on.

"Let's go find Gilbert and Francis," Antonio suggested taking Lovina's hand once they had all left the store. The girl in question looked around, expecting to see That Guy watching from behind. Antonio felt something tugging at his heartstrings. Did she really only expect physical contact when her ex was around? He would have to fix that, Fusosososo~ He really was so shameless, thinking that he would be around her more often.

Antonio was looking around, half paying attention to his surroundings, half reveling in holding hands with Lovina. "Oooh, look Lovi! There!" He pointed enthusiastically at the music store, pulling her along, ignoring her half-hearted protests. Felicia bounced alongside him, with Alfred chattering about picking up something for himself since he was already there.

The store was a typical part of the Notes chain of music stores, only carrying top forty, Christian rock, and other 'popular' music, with nothing (heaven forbid) that was over ten years old. Not that Lovina was judging or anything. They eventually found Francis and Gilbert in the pop aisle with the newest Lady Gaga CD.

"'Tonio! We thought you had wandered off and died or something! Why didn't you just text us to say you hooked up with Lovina?" Gilbert said, waving enthusiastically at them.

"What do you mean 'hooked up'? This bastard just came out of nowhere and started following us around!"

"Ve~ Antonio came and saved sorella! That Guy was following her, and-"

"Shut the hell up before I return that stupid dress you got." The teenagers greeted each other and eventually they worked themselves back to the topic of what the cute Italian twins and the American boy were doing at the mall.

"Ve~ I wanted to pick up some paint because we're working on a project in art, and I wanted to work on it at home! Lovina didn't trust me on my own, and Alfred came to carry our bags." She paused for a moment, feeling like she was forgetting something. "Oh yeah! Say, Gilbert, is your cute brother here?" She looked around hopefully while Gilbert cackled delightedly.

"Yeah, he didn't trust us to come on our own either." Gilbert looked around until he saw his younger brother in another aisle of the store and he raised his voice "Yo, West! Luddy! Guess what I found!" The albino winked at Felicia conspiratorially, making her giggle.

Sighing in annoyance, Ludwig started to make his way over. "If you break it, you're buying it."

"Aww, c'mon Luddy-" Gilbert began before he was cut off.

"You already broke it, didn't you?" Lovina scowled. Sure, she didn't think much of Gilbert Beilschmidt, but that didn't give his little brother the excuse to scold him in public as though he were a foolish child. As a fellow older sibling, this just rubbed her the wrong way. Suppose Felicia started getting uppity like that? But she was distracted from her musings by her sister literally throwing herself at Ludwig.

"Ve~ I'm sooo happy to see you again! We should exchange numbers!" Ludwig staggered back because of the surprise attack, and he blushed a strange shade of red and muttered something about being happy to see her as well. Perhaps Antonio could sense that Lovina was about to kill Ludwig, or maybe he just remembered that he wanted to get her phone number too, but he took her hand again, ignoring her reflexively trying to jerk away and cooed "Oh, Lovi! I want to give you my number! That way, if you're ever in any trouble-"

"I can handle myself, bastard!" She protested.

"Yeah, and that's why The Hero is here!" Alfred cut in. Antonio kept talking because by now he had figured out that if he wanted to get ahead, he had to be stubborn.

"-or if you just want to talk or do anything together, you can call me!" Lovina turned red (with anger! It was anger, not embarrassment!) and was about to tell him where he could stuff his phone number, when he pulled out her cell phone from his pocket, which she just realized he had never given back to her from earlier when she had wanted to call her sister, and put his phone number into her contacts and as speed dial number five.

"That way it's easy to remember in a pinch, just press the middle button. He smiled at her gaping at him like he was a two headed goldfish before snatching her phone back.

"Stupid, pushy bastard, what makes you think you can assume I'd ever call you," She muttered, putting her phone into her purse. They all jumped when a quiet, but exasperated voice said from behind them "You left me!"

Whoops. The twins and Alfred turned around to see a tired Matthew, holding two cups of coffee and with pale pink splotches on his cheeks. The Bad Friends Trio was confused and took in the scene while Alfred and Felicia laughed nervously and apologized. Then the mild Canadian boy turned to Lovina.

"And you! I thought you had been abducted or something, eh!" Lovina suddenly found the floor very interesting and she shifted her weight.

"Look, this guy," she elbowed Antonio in the ribs, "came out of nowhere, and That Guy was following me again, and Antonio dragged us along to find his stupid friends. I had other stuff on my mind!"

"God, are you okay?" Matthew handed her her coffee order and change, looking her over to see if she looked particularly traumatized. The girl in question rolled her eyes, but before she could answer, something clicked in the Frenchman's head and he beamed at Matthew, pulling him into a hug.

"Mon petit Mattieu! I didn't recognize you since you had gotten so big! Don't be shy, give Frere a hug, and tell me about what's happened since I last saw you!"

"Francis, we saw each other yesterday at the supermarket! But since you asked, I went home, ate dinner, went to school, and went to the mall with friends." Francis chuckled, apologetically ruffling Matthew's head.

Lovina was starting to get a headache. "Felicia, did you get everything you wanted?"

"Ve~ No! I still want to get Ludwig's number!" Glaring, she took her sister's hand and pulled her away.

"You can't just demand people's numbers like that! If it means that much to you just find him in the phone book! C'mon, guys, we're going home." She turned and walked away, leaving Felicia to explain about how her sister had this phobia of large crowds, and she had probably hit her limit, and it wasn't any of their faults.

Stupid little sister, apologizing for her, making her feel guilty when she just wanted to be mad and get out of there with her feelings intact. She didn't look back, lest the others should see her red, shamed face. Her sister hurried after her and took her hand, looking at her apologetically. Lovina shook her head, not willing to talk right now. Her sister caught the vibe and squeezed her hand comfortingly. The thing she hated the most about her sister was that she made it impossible to be angry at her. They made their way out of the mall and got onto a city bus, not talking until they got off on their stop. Lovina sighed, looking at the sky and the setting sun, releasing the last of her stress.

"Sorry. I know you wanted to see him again." She didn't need to elaborate, her sister hugged her, 'Ve~'-ing happily. It was only a few minutes' walk until they were back at their home, one that the two of them spent in a peaceful silence.

Treading tiredly up the garden path (the flowers that Lovina kept along the edges needed to be weeded and watered, the teenage girl noticed), they were stopped at the door by Mrs. Yenta, their elderly next door neighbor. "Girls~, oh girls! I was worried I'd miss you two!" the tired look of relief on Lovina's face froze, stiffening in annoyance. That crazy old lady had been getting nosier and nosier lately, and she was always lecturing the two of them about how 'proper young women' were supposed to act. And after her husband had died, to keep busy Yenta had started buying up all of the property on their street, trying to become everybody's Land Lady. Nonno had only laughed when she gave him an offer for his home, and Lovina and Felicia had just ignored her when she started pestering them about it whenever Nonno went away.

"Mrs. Yenta, how are you doing tonight?" Felicia asked, always trying to be pleasant and kind to everyone. Lovina felt like stepping on her sister's foot. The longer they stood around chatting, the longer their neighbor would have to pick up on something being wrong. Besides, Lovina didn't like Yenta because she always scolded Feli for wearing short skirts and Lovina for wearing pants.

"I'm doing fine, dear, but I couldn't help noticing-" bet you could, Lovina thought sourly, "whenever my cat got in to your house through your window-"

"Ve~ do you mean the window that looks like it's been jimmied?"

"Or the window that has the scratch marks around the side as though someone pushed a mad cat through it?" the twins asked, peering at the windows on the side of their house that faced hers where, indeed, one window had the markings of a furious feline; the other of a poor lock-picks trials. But the old lady continued on as though the twin's hadn't said anything.

"I tried knocking on the door but nobody answered." Lovina felt a chill go down her spine and she tried to restrain the sudden panic to strangle her neighbor and hide the body under the board walk at the far end of their street (in fact, the stupid tourist-trap board walk was the reason their street was named after it, even though they physically weren't anywhere near the boardwalk) to hide the evidence.

"Oh? Nonno turns on his radio, so it's hard for him to hear the neighbors." Why did Yenta even care so much about their never-seen-lately Nonno? Lovina and Felicia went to school, kept themselves out of trouble, took care of the house, paid the bills, and were presentable to the general public. That was a hell of a lot more than most people their age could or would accomplish if they had been left on their own while their grandfather mysteriously disappeared on 'serious business'!

"Yes, dear, well I tried knocking, as I said, and when nobody answered, I could hear my dear cat, Tybalt, rummaging around in your kitchen, so I let myself in before Tybalt broke anything." Now even Felicia had stiffened in fear of what their neighbor could have found. Suppose she had found Nonno's dusty bed or empty closet?

Lovina tried to play it off as anger, glaring and saying through gritted teeth, "You broke into our house and 'rummaged around'?" She grabbed her sister's hand, dragging her into the house. "We'll send you a bill for anything you broke!"

Yenta replied indignantly "I didn't do anything, I was just retrieving my cat! And your grandfather wasn't at home! In fact, it looked as though-" But the Vargas twins were already inside their house, the door slammed behind them. Once they were inside, Lovina released her sister and started doing a damage assessment, looking at what had been disturbed.

"Ve~ Sorella, do you think she knows?" Felicia nervously held her older sister's sleeve.

"I don't know, Fells." Dinner was a quiet, tense affair, so they put in this movie, Kujo, which was over quickly, the dishes washed and put away in silence. Felicia retired to her room to vent her feelings through her paintings; Lovina soothed herself by tending the flowers outside, singing along with the radio for a while, then practicing her clarinet. It was soothing, methodically going through the music measure by measure until she got this phrase and that one right.

Music was the one thing that Lovina felt she could do better than Felicia. Her little sister was better at dealing with people, cooking, drawing, and she even had a better sense of style. The only thing that Lovina could do that her sister couldn't (well, she could, but Lovina had always been better) was music. Felicia was a soprano, but Lovina was a mezzo-soprano, meaning that she could sing the alto's part just as well, but she could also belt out purely operatic notes. Feli could barely play through a piece without squeaking, but Lovina was taking private lessons with their band director, so she was also the first chair clarinet player in their band. Lovina felt it was one of the only things she could be proud of in this life.

The twins fell asleep sitting at their easel and on their bed clutching their clarinet, respectively. In the morning they hastily ran around like chickens with their heads cut off getting ready to catch the bus. They barely made it in time, and Felicia remarked once the bus had started moving that she was sure that she had left both of their lunches at home. Which meant that they would have to resign themselves to the cafeteria lunch from school, or maybe they could steal one of the Jones-Williams (Williams-Jones?)'s lunch since they also brought their own from home.

Lovina entered her home room, sitting in between Toris and Felix. "Like, Lovina, tell Liet that your story yesterday totes wasn't some kind of secret!" Felix demanded the moment she sat down. Apparently the two of them had been having a conversation about yesterday's discussion.

"Um, kind of, but I don't really mind. It was going to get out eventually, and at least everyone knows the truth." She felt a little guilty, telling him a lie just so he could spread it. Was she really turning into one of those girls who would use her friends if she wanted to? Lovina would have to do something nice for Felix and Toris in the future. Not that she cared or anything! She just. . . .Okay, she might care a little. The teacher came in then and started that day's lesson so they didn't have any more time to talk or brainstorm pleasant surprises for her friends.

Lovina, bored about half-way through the lecture, started staring at the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes until the bell would ring. The intercom beeped, signaling that an announcement was about to be read.

"Felicia and Lovina Vargas, please report to the principal's office immediately." The secretary read off, bored, in her nasally voice. Confused with what this was supposed to be about, the Italian girl got out of her chair, stuck her chin out stubbornly when she noticed That Guy leering at her. She flounced her way out of the classroom, stumbling on the door jam, but recovering with barely a blush on her cheeks.

She met her sister just in front of the Principal's office, and together they opened the door. Inside the principal sat at his desk, making small talk to a beautiful woman, whose skin tone and accent suggested that she came from somewhere from around the middle east, the Mediterranean area at the very least. She looked up and smiled at the two twins, making Felicia smile in response, relived, and Lovina shift uncomfortably.

"Girls, this is Mrs.-" the principal paused, uncertain how to pronounce her last name.

"Please, just call me Isis. I'm here because your neighbor, a Mrs. Yenta, called Child Protective Services because she was worried that your guardian has been absent for a while." Lovina scowled.

"Quella fica dannato! That bitch's always had her eyes on our property, buying up everybody and trying to make some kind of monopoly." Lovina switched over to Italian, ranting using expletives that probably would have gotten her suspended if their principal understood her. Felicia gasped and put her hands over her ears. Isis bit her lip, trying not to smile wider.

"She was just concerned about two teenage girls living unsupervised." She ushered the two girls into chairs and explained that she would take the two of them home and they would pack their necessities and she would contact their parents or next of kin.

Isis checked them out of school and brought them home for the last time (or so the twins felt). Lovina stared glumly out the window of her dark blue station wagon as they pulled away from the school, noticing her classmates in the halls, meaning that class was changing.

Alfred happened to look out the window exactly when they were pulling away. Felicia who was also looking out the back waved glumly, giving Alfred the impression that the only other set of twins he knew of were being abducted.

Once they pulled up to the house, Felicia spotted Mrs. Yenta peeking out her knit curtains. Yenta pulled away when Feli scowled at her. Isis produced a key out of nowhere and let them into the house. She paused inside the door, looking around contemplatively. "I didn't expect Romulus to have such a nice house."

"Ve~ do you know Nonno?" Felicia asked curiously. Isis' cheeks got a light dusting of pink on them, and Lovina noticed and rolled her eyes.

"Feli, Nonno's a horn dog. Obviously he flirted with Isis." Isis put a gentle hand on Lovina's shoulder.

"I know you girls are feeling anxious, but you're going to be okay. No one is going to separate you two, or make you change schools, and we're going to find you a nice new home."

Lovina rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Like on a nice farm where there's plenty of room to run around?"

"Really?" Felicia asked hopefully. Sometimes it was physically painful to Lovina how stupid her sister could be.

"No, that was sarcasm, Feli." Isis helped them pack their suitcases with all of their clothes and things that they would need in their new home. While they packed, the woman tried to figure out who to call.

"What happened to your parents?"

"Dad cheated on mom, and they had a divorce. She didn't want us because we look like him, so he got custody, but we were cramping his style with the ladies, so he sent us to America to live with Nonno."

"Oh. Did Romulus ever mention who your Godparent would be?"

"Nope~ Nonno said that we were the only family any of us needed, and that he got the best end of the custody agreement, ever~." Felicia responded, smiling and imitating their missing grandfather to a T.

Once they finished packing and returned to Isis' car, she took them to the Child Protective Services office, showing them into her office. Spying a clock on the wall, Lovina realized that School was half-way over already.

On one hand, she was at CPS and likely on her way to a foster home; on the other, she didn't need to worry about that biology test anymore. Isis' office was painted in a dark blue, with very green plants in the corners to give it a lighter tone. There was an older computer on her desk, which she was typing away on, explaining to Felicia how she was looking for any records of their Nonno's will, in case he had specified who they should stay with. Lovina couldn't be bothered to pay attention. She didn't care how that woman would find a place to take them. She knew that their carefree grandfather almost definitely hadn't bothered to fill out such stuffy paperwork. They had been in here for ages, and soon Isis would give up on them, the way most adults did when they got too troublesome, and throw them into some foster home, and Felicia would get adopted right away since she was so nice and sweet, and Lovina would be stuck with those horror foster parents from TV and books.

She noticed a picture on Isis' desk. A boy in the middle who looked like her was stubbornly holding onto the other twos arms, pulling them into the photo. They were looking away from each other, scowling. One of the boys (he looked like an older teenager, with stubble on his chin) was wearing a white mask that covered the top half of his face. The boy on the right had crazy curls that rivaled Lovina's grandfathers. Isis noticed her looking at it.

"That's my son, Gupta, and his two friends Heracles and Sadiq. My son is in the middle. His friends never really did get along." Lovina nodded, wondering when she would see her friends again. She stared out the window moodily while Felicia compulsively tapped her foot to a crazy tempo on the floor. Isis hummed tunelessly to herself while she typed away, unaware of the girls anxiety. After another half hour of sitting around tensely while Isis worked on her computer, Lovina finally took mercy on her younger sister's frayed nerves and announced that they were going to the vending machine that the elder twin had seen down the hall.

Isis nodded distractedly, and for a wild moment Lovina wondered whether she and her sister should just make a run for it, but decided that it would be more practical to get something to eat first. As she stood up, little Felicia grabbed her hand, in a role reversal that Lovina found a little endearing. Usually Lovina was the one who had to drag her sister around, but now Feli was clinging to her older sister, looking for some kind of stability.

A few other employees looked at them curiously from their cubicles and offices as they made their way past. Lovina figured that if she should grab her sister and run, they wouldn't make it to the front door before someone tripped them up or grabbed them. Sticking her head up, like a princess, Lovina ignored the watchers as though they were only bugs, beneath her dignity.

The vending machine had several snacks, and she forced herself to make small talk to her sister, trying to shake her out of her nervousness. But Felicia refused to say anything until Lovina gave up with a sigh.

"Ve~ sorella, what's going to happen to us?" Her voice was tiny, helpless, and afraid. Lovina wanted to punch Isis in the face for ripping them away from their lives, then find Romulus and punch him in the trachea for abandoning them, leaving only a note and the occasional e-mails to let them know he was still alive. It really wasn't fair. He had made them e-mail at least every other day, but he was completely erratic with his. Sometimes they would get five e-mails a day, other times they would get one every two weeks. Her rage (and, very very deep down, her fear) had been simmering since the day they had found the hastily written note on their kitchen table one morning.

*~X~*

Garen closed the door to his study, hoping to drown out the sounds of the violent video game his eldest grandson and his two friends were playing. He wasn't exactly sure why he still let those boys Antonio and Francis into his house. They were always up to something, like playing pranks on the other children in town, starting their own 'band', and even getting parts in some two-bit amateur movie that Alfred Jones had made. Why couldn't Gilbert work up to his potential in school, bring home the kinds of grades his little brother did, and join law school the way his father, uncles, and grandfather had?

But all Gilbert wanted from life was to play with his friends and 'make the big time' with his band. Garen shook his head, sending those thoughts away for now, focusing on trying to get some of his briefs read before he had to meet with his client tomorrow.

It was par for the course, however, for Garen's private line to start ringing once he had read the first line. Frowning in annoyance, Garen had a premonition that the call was going to end up being very annoying.

*~X~*

Francis never really paid much attention to Garen, Gilbert and Ludwig's grandfather. He knew from Gil's grousing that Garen wanted him to go to law school and become a lawyer, like the rest of their family, but Gilbert had dreams of being a rock star, just like him and Antonio. Garen didn't approve of either of Gilbert's best friends, so he mostly kept out of their way whenever they were over, which admittedly was often enough that they gave the impression sometimes of living there.

Now, though, school was over and the Bad Friends had decided to play video games before practicing their music. It was a shooting alien game that Ludwig had borrowed from his friend Kiku, and the three friends had decided that they would take control of the mother ship. Francis barely noticed Garen leaving the house, saying something about picking something up. Antonio nodded absentmindedly, zapping aliens with that ax crazy smile on his face. Gilbert didn't respond, and Garen left without looking at his eldest grandson, exchanging a few words with Ludwig by the door.

Francis' character died, leaving him out of the game, and his friends loudly declaring that they would avenge his death. He huffed a little. It wasn't his fault that he was a lover, not a fighter. Really, he was just too sophisticated for those kinds of video games. Francis immediately stopped that line of thought when he realized that he was sounding like Arthur. At least this monologue had been in his head, so he wouldn't need to get rid of any witnesses. The teenager of love was stopped from his musing whenever Ludwig wandered into the room, a contemplative frown on his face. The German boy sat on the couch next to his brother.

"What has you so worried, Ludwig?" Francis asked, bored.

"Did you hear Großvater? He mentioned that he was picking up the grandchildren of his old friend from Child Protective Services." That made Gilbert pause the game, unnoticed by Antonio for a few seconds who kept blasting away with that mad-ax smile of his.

"¿Qué?"

"Opa's picking up some kids? Where are they supposed to stay?"

"Presumably in the two spare bedrooms that Francis and Antonio have been sleeping in." Ludwig responded drily. "It's not like those two actually live here or anything." This came as a slight shock to Antonio and Francis, who had been staying at the Beilschmidt house for the last week.

"Aww, but my parents are out of town, and I hate staying home alone. It's too quiet!" Antonio whined.

"Get over it! Hey, West, do you think the kids will be cute?" They were assuming that the new people living with them were going to be small children, since their grandfather was younger than most, so they assumed that his friend would also be young, thus having younger grandchildren. Gilbert loved cute stuff (shut up, he was the manliest part of their group, damn it! He just liked small fluffy things, or things that were cute. Like those hot Italian twins. From yesterday.)

"Who knows?" With that, Ludwig made Antonio and Francis clean up the guest rooms, threatening to pack for them if they didn't do it in a timely manner.

A few hours later, Ludwig fed the dogs and let them outside to play, since they needed more activity, being bigger breeds. The Bad Friends had returned to their video game, and didn't pay much attention to the sound of Garen's car pulling into the drive or the dogs barking in response. The dogs were all friendly, but they had been bred as guard dogs originally, so they barked at everything that moved into their pack's territory, but they were kind and gentle enough to be left alone with several small children.

Most people didn't know that about bigger dogs, so the mail people always dreaded making deliveries except for Stanley (who was really nice to everyone), who always carried a few dog treats on him for the neighborhood dogs.

They were very surprised when they heard panicked yelling coming from the driveway. It wasn't that the person was afraid of the dogs, because that was normal, it was the voice that they all recognized, making them do a double take, and giving Antonio a mild case of whiplash.

"Chigi! Those are big dogs! They're going to eat us!" Lovina screamed, clearly flipping out.

*~X~*

Antonio sprinted out the door.

**(A/N: there really aren't any excuses for why I haven't updated in months, but in my defense, I started college recently, so I'm still getting into the swing of things. As I'm typing this, I'm waiting for my Anthropology class to start. I've been writing this for a few minutes at a time for maybe a month now . . . not that that excuses anything. Some notes:**

**1) Germania is Garen. I was looking at names online, and Garen means 'guardian' in German, so I thought I'd use that, because I could definitely see Roma-san using his (cute) logic to shorten it to Ger-san.**

**2) I felt guilty about the break, so this chapter is over 3 times as long as the last one. I'm not sure if you guys will like that or not, but I felt like it was the thing to do. The next chapter will probably fall between this length and the length of the first chapter, depending on how I want to end it. Other chapters might be longer than this once the plot really gets moving.**

**3) Isis is Egypt's mom, Ancient Egypt. Greece's mom may or may not be around, depending on if I want to put her in. Rome had crushes on both Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece in canon, and I've seen him characterized as a womanizer, so that's where I'm getting most of my inspiration for him from.**

**4) Next chapter will have at least one scene from St. Wisteria's (if anyone cares, I've divided the cast into the schools, so some characters will be going there). Fun fact: England is the only one who calls his school by its full and proper name. Everybody else calls it 'Wisty's or St. Wisteria's if you're Arthur.' Even if they don't know who Arthur is. I have crack humor like that.**

**5) This story is clearly labeled under 'fanfiction'. It's posted on '' so I'm sure most people have realized that I am aware that I don't own anything except maybe the plot I'm using. If anyone wanted to steal my plot because you think you can do it better, send me a pm whenever you get your first chapter up, I'd love to read it!)**

**6) Extras and small time characters should be considered OC's unless I specify otherwise. 'That guy' will have a name soon; I'm, like, half-way there! **


	3. they're heere!

The Bad Friends Trio literally ran over each other, in a way reminiscent of some kind of animal stampede. Standing on the front door step, the teenagers saw a momentarily stunned Garen still holding the door to his car open while Lovina and Felicia crawled on the roof of his car, fully panicked because of the three big dogs treeing them.

"Ve~ Ludwig, help!" Felicia cried. Ludwig appeared in the door-way behind his brother. At the younger twin's cry he pushed his way forward, barking commands at his dogs in German. Obediently they stopped barking and sat in a neat line, wagging their tails happily.

Antonio and Ludwig made their way over to help the still-hysterical teenage girls. Felicia jumped into Ludwig's arms, thankfully he had half-expected that to happen and he was incredibly built, allowing him to catch her easily. "Hush, it's alright. They're very well behaved dogs." Gently he took her hand in his and held it out for the dogs to smell. The dogs politely ignored her shaking and sniffed, licking her hand in greeting.

"Felicia Vargas, you get your ass back on this car before those dogs rip your throat out!" Lovina squawked, her voice trembling in fear.

"It's okay, Quierda, they're just big goof-balls, really." Antonio held his arms out, trying to coax the girl down. "I've been here millions of times, and they've never bitten me."

"No way! Look at them! They're just waiting for me to climb down and then they're going to give me rabies!" Lovina remained stubbornly in the middle of the roof, glancing nervously at the Doberman and Rottweiler every few seconds.

"Totally unawesome!" Gilbert interjected. "We got them all puppy-shots!" By now Felicia had calmed down, though she still clung to Ludwig's arm. "They're probably healthier than you are!" Antonio ignored his friend, moving close enough she could jump to him. One side of his mouth quirked down for a second when she didn't, but then it was up again, brighter than ever.

"Lovi, I promise you, it'll be ok. I'll carry you into the house, and Gilbert won't let them in until you say so." Antonio said soothingly, as though she was some kind of small frightened animal. Garen sighed and massaged the space between his eyebrows with two fingers.

"Please get off of my car." He was ignored by the younger generation.

"N-no way! Those dogs can jump!" Lovina wasn't sure why exactly she was still so frightened, but her limbs froze in place every time she looked at those bright glittering eyes. Her heart was beating so loudly it was all she could hear, pretty much, and her breaths came out in short puffs, not letting her get the oxygen she needed.

"It's fine; they're all really nice dogs." Antonio kept talking soothingly and Lovina edged closer and closer to the edge of the roof, until she was close enough for him to snatch her up into his arms. Normally she would kick and scream until he let go, but those dogs kept looking at her with that blood-thirsty (politely curious) expression!

"Now that that's taken care of, I'll get the luggage." Francis said with a pervy grin, opening the trunk of Garen's car.

"Touch my bag and die, Perv." Lovina growled with as much malice as one could summon while clinging to a hot Spaniard for dear life. Ludwig sighed, letting go of Felicia and moved Francis out of the way.

"Ja, bruder and I will get them." Fortunately Ludwig didn't usually have to order his elder sibling like his dogs. Gilbert cackled at his friend's bad luck and his other friend's good luck and grabbed the green duffel, leaving the heavier-looking pink one for his little brother.

"Ve~ your dogs are so cute! What kind are they?" Felicia asked curiously.

"Ah, Aster is a German Shepard, Blackie is a Doberman, and Kitty is the Rottweiler."

"Yeah, the Awesome Me named Kitty, because that's totally what he wants to be in life!" Garen shut the door of the car before one of the dogs who had decided that their orders to 'sit and stay at attention' were over now could try to climb into the car. (Garen had never seen dogs who loved car rides the way those three did.)

"I thought German Shepherds were supposed to be darker though?"

"Ah, well you see Felicia," Francis said, offering his arm to lead her into the house. She giggled and grabbed on. "Aster's Mamman was a normal Shepard, but her Papa was an albino. According to breeders, that makes Aster a 'blonde' Shepard."

Antonio held Lovina close to his body while he carried her across the yard, one hand supporting her back, the other under her knees. The Spanish teen wondered what kind of perfume Lovi used. It smelled like springtime, gardening, and sunlight. And it was just fruity enough to make him want to bury his head in her hair to try and smell it better. Better not, Gil, Fran, Ludwig, and Abuelo are watching! He thought, sighing wistfully. Maybe later, once the girl had calmed down and they were alone.

Then again, she was undoubtedly still standoffish around him, and suspicious about how he had managed to find her so easily at the mall yesterday. He would have to be on his best behavior until she let her guard down and trusted him.

Lovina wished the ground would swallow her up. It was embarrassing, clinging to Antonio like some little girl! God only knew what he thought of her now, being all helpless and submissive. She refused to meet anyone's gaze while he carried her until she realized that they were almost at the doorstep. Like a bolt of lightning, it hit her about what it would look and feel like if she allowed him to carry her over the threshold like some kind of fucking bride! Suddenly squirming, she surprised Antonio, almost making him drop her.

"Seriously, let me go! Put me down! I'm fine now, Chigi!" Regretfully, Antonio let her go and she immediately bolted into the house after her sister and Garen. He had noticed what position they would have been in, and was hoping that she wouldn't notice before he could carry her over the threshold of her new home. Gilbert and Ludwig followed after Antonio, Ludwig letting the dogs in since it looked like Lovina was over her brief bout of panic. The brothers put down the twin's baggage, sitting in the living room since it looked like Garen had something to say to them all. The other teenagers took their cue from them and sat in the living room.

"Lovina, Felicia, I wasn't aware you were acquainted with my grandsons or their friends." Felicia 'Ve~ed' happily about to explain when Gilbert cut in.

"Yeah and how did Opa get you guys from Child Protective?"

"It's all Nonno's fault. We woke up one morning six months ago, and there was this crummy note on the kitchen table saying he had to leave town for a while, not to worry, and to take care of the house. He e-mails every so often, so we know he's still alive, and he puts money into our bank accounts every month for expenses, but he still wins the 'shittiest guardian of the year' award." Lovina rolled her eyes, bored with telling this story first for Isis, then for Garen when he showed up. "Apparently Nonno and Ger-san were closer than Ger-san realized because he willed us to him. I didn't know that you two were Ger-san's grandkids though."

"Yeah, Mutti and Vati were taking this second honey-moon when the Awesome Me was eleven, and this unawesome drunk-ass trucker ran a red-light. So why aren't you guys living with your parents?" Gilbert said offhandedly.

"Ve~ Papa and Mama got a divorce, but mama didn't want us because we look like papa and that made her sad, and papa didn't want us because he was busy with lady-friends and we were cramping his style, so we moved to America to live with Nonno!" Felicia said, a little sadly when talking about their parents, but she cheered up when she talked about immigrating to America. "Ve~ it was fun, Nonno taught us English, and got us visas and stuff! And Nonno always says that he got the best end of the custody agreement, ever~" It scared Lovina sometimes when she noticed how easily Felicia could imitate their grandfather and sound exactly like him.

Antonio chuckled. "I agree! Francis and I don't live here," regrettably, "but we come over to visit every day!"

Garen cleared his throat. "That still doesn't explain how you met my grandsons."

"Ve~ well. . ."

A long explanation later and Ger-san leaned back in his arm chair pensively. "So you were going out with a young man, but he didn't accept it when you broke up with him, and he started stalking you." Lovina bristled a little, not comfortable with his exasperated attitude.

"It's not like I wanted him to."

"And then you met Antonio at the combined school music recital and had him stand in as . . . your 'fake boyfriend'?" He had never heard of anything as outlandish as that, and it didn't surprise him at all that Roma-kun's granddaughters had pulled something like that.

"Sí." Garen Beilschmidt was going to kill Romulus for saddling him with two teenage girls, one of which came with a stalker. With a sigh he stood up, brushing off imaginary lint from his sleeve.

"I have a few errands I need to run. Ludwig, get the girls settled and Gilbert, don't destroy the house." His gaze flickered over to Antonio and Francis. "I expect the two of you to clean out the guest rooms and if the twins are not treated like ladies, you two will not be allowed back into this house." Garen stared at Francis in particular when he mentioned 'how young girls were to be treated'. With that he left the house, muttering to himself.

*~X~*

Lovina sighed as well. She wasn't sure what to make of her new 'guardian' who definitely wasn't thrilled to take the two of them in, and she couldn't claim that she was ecstatic that she would be living in a house with two teenage boys (from the sound of it, though, Francis and Antonio may as well live there too), especially since they were the two German boys from the concert. "C'mon Feli, we should go ahead and get settled."

"Aww just put that boring crap off 'til later. Hey! Hey! The awesome me just had a great idea! You two should listen to us play!"

"Ve~ play what?" Felicia asked cutely, tilting her head to the side.

"Music, of course! We're a band, and bands don't sound good unless they practice!"

And so the twins found themselves led to the garage where a drum set, and two guitars had been set up. "What happened to that keyboard you were playing?" Lovina asked, forgetting that she had planned to act uninterested, no matter what they sounded like.

"Ah, I'm learning how to play bass guitar, but until I get a little better at it I'll still be doing keyboards at performances," Francis purred from right behind her, making the Italian girl jump and scoot away, muttering obscenities. "Until then, I'll just swap back and forth with keyboards and bass guitar."

Antonio smiled at her. "Lovi, you and Felicia should sit here!" He pointed to a worn couch by one wall set up across from the instruments. "Ha ha, I think this is the first time a girl's watched us practice!" He chuckled, patting the armrest of the couch invitingly.

"Fine, but if you suck I won't have any mercy, dammit!" Shit, so much for sounding tough. Lovina sat down gingerly on the couch, trying to think of something else to say. "How old is this couch, anyway? It looks like it'll break any second."

"Don't worry, the couch is fine! It's lasted through a nuclear war, for crying out loud!"

Ludwig noticed the horrified looks on Lovina and Felicia's faces when his brother made his last statement, so he hastily added "When we picked it up from the lawn sale, the owner proved to us that it was clean. It's old, but very stable." To prove his point, he sat down on the opposite side of the couch from where Lovina had half-stood up, concerned about radiation. Felicia 'Ve~ed' happily and sat between them.

"What song are you guys going to play?" The three boys shared a look, having a mental conversation until Gilbert apparently won, cackling while Antonio and Francis started turning the guitars.

"We're doing one of my awesome songs!" And they started the music. It was obvious Gilbert wrote it. It was loud, in your face, and very emotional. The lyrics were about a girl who had been 'a girl who thought she was a boy' but the girl had been taken away by 'a boy who had the right manners but no soul' or something stupid and trite like that. It wasn't like Lovina was paying particular attention to the lyrics or anything. Glancing to the side, Lovina saw that her sister had clasped her hands in front of her heart and was swaying slightly with the melody and watching with starry eyes. Great, just what these three needed, to have their ego stroked. Ludwig was looking at his knees uncomfortably, rubbing the bridge between his eyebrows. "I thought he was over her." He muttered, low enough that Felicia couldn't (or wasn't paying enough attention to) hear him.

Lovina raised an eyebrow and leaned back, trying to think about Gilbert liking someone. For some reason she couldn't see him being willing to leave his feelings unrequited the way the song implied he had. Probably he had exaggerated the situation, to make it more romantic and thus more entertaining for the audience. Ludwig was probably just being a big stick in the mud and expecting him to get over some childish crush faster than could be expected.

Lovina was too busy thinking and missed them switching to a song that Francis was singing. She jumped a little, startled when she heard him start to sing. It was a crooning love song about someone's green eyes and hair that wouldn't lie flat.

Lovina was transfixed. She wasn't sure if it was his singing or how surprisingly honest this song was. She didn't think it felt like a lie or an exaggeration like the last song, but she couldn't picture one of the three boys being honest and open enough to write something like that. To her horror, she found her foot tapping along. So much for her determination to not like their music.

"What do you think?" Francis asked with a smile once that song was finished.

"You were sharp." Ludwig said, making the three flop onto their instruments in dismay.

"Nooo! I knew I totally blew the third chorus! Totally not awesome!" Gilbert wailed. Ludwig rolled his eyes.

"That was a joke, bruder. You were the one telling me to get a sense of humor." Gilbert looked like he was about to throw his drumstick at his little brother when the garage door opened and Garen pulled in in his green station wagon.

"I have some news." Garen said simply and led the group of teenagers into the living room. They were curious, remembering his abrupt 'errand' he needed to run after he had heard the girl's story. He raised a disapproving eyebrow at the girl's luggage still being where they had left it earlier. Seeming to disregard it, Ger-san sat down in his armchair, gesturing for the teenagers to follow suit. Ger-san paused, trying to figure out how to start.

"As your new guardian, I can't allow the two of you to go to school somewhere not safe."

Lovina felt a cold weight drop to the bottom of her stomach. "So I've taken the liberty of withdrawing you two from White Valley." Felicia and Lovina's eyes bugged out. Ger-san seemed to read their thoughts. "You needn't worry about your academic careers. I also enrolled you in World Series." The bad friends' trio exchanged looks of delight.

"Way to go Opa!" Gilbert cackled. Ger-san rolled his eyes at his eldest grandson.

"This brings me to my next point. As of now, we have new house rules."

Felicia and the boys seemed to catch Lovina's sudden low mood.

"Ve~ what kind of 'house rules'? Are they going to be bad?" Felicia asked, taking her sister's hand in her own. Lovina thought to herself ha! Take that, Ludwig! Serves you right, too. She wasn't positive why, but it somehow bugged her to no end that her sister had barely met the guy and was already throwing herself at him. It was probably just her big sister instincts kicking in. Yeah, that had to be it. "First off," Ger-san began, "the Vargas' will get the upstairs bathroom and the two guest rooms on either side. I've taken the liberty of refitting the locks and I'm giving the girls their own keys." Lovina visibly relaxed at that. It wasn't that she didn't trust them…who was she kidding? She didn't trust anybody in this house as far as she could throw them, and she had scrawny arms.

"Also, should one of the boys wish to visit in one of the girl's rooms…" Ger-san paused, considering the matter. "They will need to be chaperoned by Ludwig-" Felicia perked up happily "-and Lovina." Well, that popped that bubble. Everyone could already tell that there was no way those two could be in the same room together for more than five minutes at a time. Ger-san was basically saying 'There's no way I'll let boys in the girl's rooms.'

"Francis and Antonio," Garen took a look at Gilbert's indignant face and added "-and any friends Ludwig has over must leave this house by ten. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. I expect all residents of this house to be here by nine on weekdays and ten on weekends. If you want an extension or any exception call me and I'll decide case-by-case." Felicia and Lovina fought down smiles. Ger-san reminded them of Nonno when he got into lawyer mode. It made sense, since the two of them had gone through law school together and had started their first law firm together.

Lovina wasn't sure how Ger-san had been appointed their guardian since to her understanding, Ger-san had screwed Romulus over somehow years ago and they had lost the firm. But then again, Nonno and Felicia were very similar. Once they had declared someone their friend, there was literally no way to shake them off.

"Also, since we have more people living in the house, I'll be posting a new chore schedule within a few days." Lovina wasn't thrilled, but this was better than living on the streets, in a foster home, or by themselves, so she would just suck it up and refuse to touch the boys' laundry. "And while I'm thinking of it, Antonio and Francis aren't allowed in the house before seven in the mornings."

"Ve~ is it really that big a problem?" Felicia couldn't imagine someone willingly getting up before ten.

"Bruder's friends practically live here." Ludwig said. Gilbert cackled.

"Shows you right for giving them food that one time years ago. Really, West, you should have known better." Antonio and Francis didn't seem to mind being compared to stray dogs and just nodded along, smiling.

Garen cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. "None of us are used to having girl's around, but in light of Lovina's, ah, problem-" The elder twin blushed crimson and looked down, ignoring Antonio reassuringly nudging her foot with his, "-the girls are to be walked or driven to and from school." Garen turned his cold gaze onto his grandsons. "As men it will be your job not only as hosts but as surrogate family members to make sure that Felicia and Lovina are safe." His gaze flickered to Antonio "Even from unwanted attention." Antonio's mouth popped open angrily but he was beaten to the punch by Gilbert.

"What was that supposed to mean, Opa?" Garen responded in stern German, and Gilbert answered back scathingly in the same language, making the short argument they had impossible to understand except for Ludwig who just shook his head and looked away awkwardly. Lovina narrowed her eyes and followed the speakers, catching Antonio and her name a few times, drinking in the tone of what was said. It seemed that Gilbert won this argument because after a while he smirked triumphantly (though he still looked angry) and leaned back in his seat.

"As I was saying, the girls are going to be escorted to and from school. If you make plans to the contrary, make sure to tell either tell me or Ludwig."

"Hey, why not me, Opa?" Gilbert interjected.

"Because both your memory and judgment have proven faulty in the past," he said coldly. Then, seemingly trying to stop the next argument before it got started, Garen turned to the twins.

"Now, Felicia, Lovina, you should try on your uniforms to make sure they fit properly." He looked at them expectantly.

*~X~*

"Uniforms?" There was no way. . .

"Yes, all students at World Series are required to wear school uniforms." Garen and Lovina had a thirty second staring contest until. . .

"Is there any point in refusing?" Lovina asked, resigned.

"None at all. The secretary at school helped me pick out the sizes." Ger-san mumbled uncomfortably, handing Felicia a bag with folded uniforms in it. Smiling happily, Feli led her sister into the bathroom.

"Ve~ okay, but you guys have to wait out here and tell us if they fit right."

Ludwig blushed and jerked his head in what could have been a nod; Antonio grinned even brighter than usual and nodded his head very rapidly. Gilbert leaned back, expecting a show. Ger-san made a noncommittal noise and pulled out a newspaper out of his briefcase and started reading. Francis leered disgustingly making Lovina shiver. How could her sister not notice that they were surrounded by creepers?

Antonio was sure today was shaping out to be perfect. He had eaten five tomatoes today, written more of the song about Mondays and school, played video games with his friends, found out that his newest obsession (or crush, if you prefer) was going to be staying with one of his best friends, and best of all, now Lovi (and her sister) were going to his school and he got to listen to them put on uniforms! He was a little sad, because the dreary girl school uniform didn't flatter anybody, but he kept smiling because he could hear Felicia try to help her sister with the buttons. Antonio casually moved a pillow over his lap. Ger-san probably wouldn't appreciate that he was getting a little too excited, thinking about Lovi wearing his school's uniform. For a few seconds he was lost in a fantasy.

Lovina walking down the halls with a few girls, Lovina standing in the lunch line at school, Lovina hanging out in Gilbert's living room with him, playing video games, Lovina doing pretty much anything…

"Ow! Felicia, be careful with your elbows! I don't know why you wanted to change together anyway!" Lovina griped, turning the doorknob. Oh god. Antonio rejected his previous statement. He was now in love with his school's uniform for girls. The plaid skirt was just above the knee, and is swirled and twirled around showing a teasing bit of thigh when Lovina walked (or paced nervously, as she was doing now), and the blouse was a crisp white, showing off her tan. The ribbon holding her hair back conveniently matched the bow tie that the girls were required to wear, and the colors seemed to somehow compliment her coloring.

She noticed him (and the other males) staring at her and her sister. "Well?" A faint trace of red colored her cheeks and she looked at him expectantly.

"Very flattering, Ma Cherie." Francis said, beating Antonio to the punch.

"Ve~ do you think?" Felicia asked, twirling in a circle for Ludwig. He coughed, not sure how to go about complimenting a woman on her outfit.

"Er, Ja. It suits you nicely." Gilbert draped his arm over his little brother's shoulder, his bad mood and argument forgotten.

"Jeez, Luddy, we've gotta get that stick up your ass removed." He laughed again, dancing out of reach. Garen looked at them over his newspaper, squinting slightly due to his reading glasses.

"They appear to fit you both. You can go ahead and change back whenever you're ready."

"Ve~ you think, Ger-san?"

"Felicia, why do you call Großvater that?" Ludwig asked suddenly.

"That's what Nonno always calls him, when he talks about the days they were lawyering together, and it just rubbed off on us, right sorella?" She giggled and gave an extra twirl. These uniforms really weren't as bad as she had expected them to be.

Lovina nodded with her sister's statement. "Yeah, Ger-san is Ger-san." She turned, giving Antonio a fine view of her…um…yeah. "C'mon Feli, I want to get out of this skirt."

Suddenly there was a knocking on the front door, and before anyone could go to see who it was, the person let themselves in, singing "Who do you think you are? Barging in, on me and my guitar!" Alfred F. Jones (who else could it have been?) stopped in the door to the living room, jaw dropping when he saw the twins in the World Series uniforms. He had been air-guitaring, but he froze, not comprehending what he saw. And when he didn't understand something, Arthur had always told him the best thing to do was ask for clarification.

"What the hell?"

"Isn't that what we should be asking you? What are you doing here, anyway?" Lovina griped, defensively crossing her arms.

"Lots of reasons! I saw you two getting kidnapped at school, so I bugged the principal's secretary until she told me that you guys were taken by CPS, and then Mattie and I made nuisances of ourselves over there until they told us that Gilbert's gramps took you guys home-"

("What are we, a litter of kittens?" Lovina mumbled)

"-and we came to make sure that you two were okay, and to tell Gilbie and Franny that House Rules has finally been edited!" Alfred finished with a dramatic thumb up. "I'm going to have a huge screening party, and everyone who was involved with production is coming, and it's going to be awesome! But that doesn't explain why you two are wearing their school uniform." Alfred pouted, crossing his own arms mirroring Lovina's own posture.

"Ve~ Ger-san found out about That Guy and he moved us to World Series so sorella would be safe." Felicia explained, taking her stiff sister's hand and forcing her to stand less rigidly. She wished her sister wouldn't be so embarrassed or scared when the subject of her ex-boyfriend came up.

"Et tu, Brute?" Alfred asked.

"Since when did you learn Latin?" Lovina asked, the master of redirection.

"Is that what it is? Arthur said that to me whenever I said his scones tasted bad. Huh, and all this time I thought it was French." Francis made a strange noise and doubled over, one hand on his mouth, his shoulders trembling.

Gilbert thought it was a fifty-fifty split whether Franny was appalled by Alfred's language skills or if he found it hilarious. "Sacré Bleu, please tell me that you told him that!"

"Uh, no. Do you think I should?"

"Most definitely." An evil grin momentarily marred Francis' handsome face. Lovina wasn't positive who this 'Arthur' person was, but he had to be something if he could stimulate non-creeper feelings from Francis. Lovina's musings were cut short by Gilbert draping himself on Alfred.

"It's about damn time you finished editing that movie! What could have taken so long?" he whined, poking Alfred's cheek.

"Cut a guy some slack, it was hard work going over every scene, like, twenty times to make sure Arthur and Francis really look like girls!" Felicia and Lovina both laughed.

"Francis, you cross-dressed for a movie?"

"You know, I'm still not sure how I managed to convince them both to do it." Alfred mused, flopping down on the sofa.

"It was almost definitely a puppy face. Jeeze, you could use it as a weapon of mass persuasion or something," Gilbert said, dropping next to his awesome-but-not-as-awesome-as-Gilbert friend. Lovina decided that the boys were suitably distracted so she grabbed her little sister's hand and dragged her into the bathroom so they could change back. Once they were wearing their normal clothes, Lovina found Ger-san had retreated to his study, done with bothering with these rowdy teenagers.

Alfred (and Matthew who apparently had been there the entire time) stayed for dinner, which was okay since Antonio had made some kind of dish he called 'paella' which Lovina absolutely did not find mouthwatering. Ger-san declined eating with them, since he wanted to contact some private detective friends who apparently owed him and Roma-kun a few 'favors' to organize a search for Romulus. This didn't surprise any of the grandchildren (his or Roma-kun's, it seemed like they both always knew someone they had helped out of a legal problem. Most of their work was just above operating costs, so the people they helped were always grateful.) While they ate, Lovina was her usual self and sat towards the edge of the group, listening to everyone else talk. Felicia was in the center, naturally, being bright and bubbly, integrating herself in their new home with their 'new family'.

At one point, Alfred and Matthew were talking about how everyone at school was going to be missing them. "Man, poor Toris is going to have his hands full, comforting Felix!" Antonio was sitting next to Lovina, so he looked at her when she chuckled, thinking of her two friends.

"¿Qué? The same Toris and Felix who were in the filming? Wow, I didn't know you were friends with them, ¡mí amour!"

"How would you know that, bastard? You've never seen me at school, and we only met on the weekend." Stupid Spaniard, assuming things in that musical voice of his. Lovina huffed and took a sip of her iced tea, turning away so that no one would be able to see how red her face was. Antonio had some nerve, sitting next to her, passing her things without needing to be asked, constantly bumping her leg with his under the table, invading her personal bubble, and she hated his stupid, bright smile most of all. What, was he trying to make her feel stupid and self-conscious, or imply that they were together? It was Fake! Fake she tells you!

Lovina was turned away, but Gilbert and Francis (because they had known him for so long) noticed that Antonio's smile faltered for a moment before coming back brighter than ever.

"But I like learning about Lovi's friends! I didn't expect that we would know the same guys at all, isn't it a great coincidence, Lovi? What are your girl friends like?"

"Ve~ Sorella doesn't have any. They all were jealous because of her voice and clarinet playing, and everyone was kinda scared off because of That Guy, since he didn't really like for Lovi to have friends. But I'm pretty sure Felix doesn't know what the word 'fear' means, and Toris goes anywhere Felix goes." A sudden sour atmosphere enveloped the table, and Lovina glared at her younger twin.

"You know that I hate you sometimes, right?"

"Ve~ that's okay, sometimes I think I hate you too." Felicia smiled sweetly at her sister. Matthew noted the looks of astonishment on the boys' faces and mentally shrugged. They were twin teenage sisters. It was normal for them to try and rip each other's throats out every few weeks. They got over it quickly, though, Matthew would give them that.

"Aww, that's okay, Quierda, there are lots of nice girls at World Series; I'll introduce you to them!" Antonio took her hand and after she tried a few times to jerk it away. She sighed and settled down, glaring half-heartedly at Antonio. Antonio didn't notice, running the names of girls through his head, trying to sort out which ones he thought Lovina would like. Definitely Femke, probably Mei Wang, and maybe even Natalia Arlovskaya? He wasn't sure about the last one, though, since she didn't seem to get along with anybody except her brother.

Across from Lovina, Matthew looked up and noticed something flying toward them. "Francis, what's that?" He pointed, drawing everyone to the fact that a small yellow bird was flying closer and closer to the window without checking its speed. Then, with a loud smack! the bird crashed into the closed kitchen window, making Gilbert immediately leave his seat and rush over to retrieve the dazed bird from the flower box beneath the windowsill.

"Gilbird, are you okay?" Gilbert cradled the small bird in his hands with a gentleness Lovina had never seen him display before. "Don't worry, it wasn't your fault. Luddy's just OCD and after he cleans, even Opa and the dogs run into the glass!" Okaaay. Lovina was sure that he wasn't really comforting a small bird and its disproportionate ego. "Heck, even the Awesome ME's run into them from time-to-time!" That settled it; Lovina was officially living with crazy people.

"Ve~ what's a gilbird?" Felicia asked, standing up and looking curiously into his cupped hands.

"Hmm? Oh, this little guy is Gilbird!" Gilbert proudly showed off his little friend to the cute twins who were living with them now and the other not-as-cute twins who were visiting. "He's my awesome pet bird! Every now and then he likes to explore and wander, but then he comes back more awesome than ever!" Gilbert put the bird on his shoulder and sat back down at his seat, as though nothing were wrong. "Hey, Luddy, pass more of the potatoes!"

It was quickly becoming apparent to Matthew and Lovina that it would be pointless to make a big deal over stuff like that at this house. The shy Canadian boy had a slight stirring of pity for Ludwig, having to deal with a brother like that, and his friends. Although Francis and Antonio didn't really seem that bad.

"Say, Mon Ami's, did I ever tell you about how last week I hooked up with this pair of twins?"

"Yeah you told us the morning after. Say, Lovi, do you want more tomatoes? I have loads!" Antonio started pulling handfuls of tomatoes out of nowhere.

You know what, Matthew mused, never mind. The dinner was fun, and though the combined efforts of Matthew, Felicia, and Lovina, they managed to cheer up Alfred. After all, it wasn't like he would never see the other twins again. They would definitely see each other on the afternoons and weekends, and they hadn't even wanted to transfer, really, it was all Grandpa Beilschmidt meddling because he hadn't known that there was a hero at White Valley who could protect them. After doing the White Valley 'gang sign' (bumping your chest twice, then putting up three then two fingers and saying 'White Valley!') he left, wrapping both twins into a hug.

Felicia giggled and patted him on the back, gasping because of lack of air (Alfred had never known his own strength), while Lovina growled and flailed around demanding "let me go, let me go, I can't freaking breath, you jerk!" until he did let her go. Matthew just smiled a little sadly and told the Vargas sister's that he'd see them around.

The elder sister felt a pinch in her throat at seeing her friends walk away, not sure when she would see them again. Gruffly she took her sister's hand and glared at Ludwig. "Where are our rooms? I want to hurry up and un-pack."

"Ja, I'll show you." He picked up their bags and led them up the stairs, leaving his brother and his brother's friends to clean up after the meal.

Lovina and Felicia didn't say anything while Ludwig showed them the bathroom they would be sharing and their rooms. Tiredly, without needing to speak, the sisters made Lovina's bed, set out uniforms for the morning, changed into pajamas and flopped onto the mattress, dead to the world before they landed on the bed.

It had been a long, hard day, and right now the twins just needed to sleep curled around each other, seeking comfort in the only family they had left.

*~X~*

Downstairs, the Bad Touch were an assembly line, Gilbert washing, Antonio drying, and Francis retrieving and replacing dishes to be washed and ones to be put away.

"Say, Francis?" Antonio said, sounding slightly less cheerful than usual.

"Mm? What's wrong, 'Toni?"

"You're close with Alfred, right? Do you know if he has a crush on Lovi? Felicia said that he was checking her out on the bus when they went to the mall, and he hugged her even though she didn't want him to, and he had that reaction to their uniforms…" Antonio paused, considering.

"Are you supposed to feel this jealous when you have a crush?"

"Not usually. This usually comes only after you love someone and are going out with them. And yes, I'm close with both Alfred and Matthew! Much more so than that dreadful Arthur Kirkland. But Alfred has mentioned that he had a crush on a cute young lady, though whether or not it's Lovina, I don't know." Francis found it laughable that his friend knew about his many failed relationships and one night stands and still referred to him as some kind of 'expert in love'.

Antonio leaned on the counter and groaned. "Ugh, I can't start doing this! Lovi just got out of an abusive, controlling relationship!" Francis and Gilbert shared an exasperated look over Antonio's head, but didn't think it worth it to remind him that he was only Lovina's Fake!Boyfriend, and since she was going to a different school now she probably wouldn't need him anymore. After all, the poor Spanish boy was their friend, and it wasn't like Lovina was their sister or anything. They were fundamentally on Antonio's side when this issue came up. Bros before hoes and all that.

"What do you think I should… Ah! I have to talk with Abuelo! My parents are still out of town!" With that, Antonio ran out of the room, leaving the drying for Francis. He knocked on Ger-san's door, suddenly nervous about asking to stay over, never mind that he and Francis stayed over most of the time without asking permission. Now that the twins were here, and Abuelo thought that Antonio wanted to take advantage of her, Antonio wasn't sure if he would be sleeping on the street or not.

Garen heard a knocking on his door and he was about to answer it when he heard Antonio Carriedo's voice calling from the other side. "Abuelo? Can I come in? There's something I want to talk to you about." It was childish of him, but Garen felt himself get angry at that.

Everyone in his house called him a different name, for crying out loud! Gilbert called him Opa, Ludwig was more respectful and referred to him as Großvater, and Francis called him Grand-père, Antonio called him Abuelo, and now the twins were referring to him by that childish nick-name Roma-kun had called him. It was enough to make a man go mad! He had to lay down the law, and the easiest way to do that would be to not respond unless they called him by what he wanted to be called.

Unfortunately for Garen Beilschmidt, he was testing that theory on the most oblivious person in the house. "Abuelo? Hey, Abuelo, can you hear me? ...Um… Oh! Hey, Abuelo, the house is on fire!"

"Gilbert, what did you do?" Garen barked, sticking his head out the door. Antonio just grinned up at him.

"Gilly didn't do anything; I just wanted to get your attention, Abuelo." Garen's Life was Average. From the kitchen they could both hear the angry huffing of the wrongly accused Gilbert in the kitchen while Francis laughed.

"What did you want?" Antonio either didn't notice or didn't care about the cold clipped tone of Garen's voice.

"Uh, well, you know that my parents go out of town a lot on business, and after I threw that party while they were gone a few months ago, I'm not allowed to stay home alone. And Francis' parents won't let me stay with them because last time that happened Alfred and Matthew came over so we were making dinner and me and Franny kinda accidentally set Arthur Kirkland on fire." Antonio kept smiling happily even while he pouted a little.

"And no one will believe us when we say it was an accident! I guess it's because I hate his guts~." It really was unfair, because that time it had been an honest to goodness accident. Really, what did the adults think would happen when Arthur took it upon himself to get into a cook-off with Francis? Oh well, at least now he had a legit excuse to stay over with his friends.

Once again Garen fought the urge to roll his eyes when dealing with one of his grandchildren's friends. Even Ludwig would occasionally bring home some questionable people under the guise of 'working on an assignment together'.

"It might help if you didn't say those things with a smile on your face." Antonio tilted his head to the side, contemplating what he said before wiping the smile off of his face.

"I hate his guts~." Despite himself Antonio couldn't help but put the squiggle in there.

"You know what, never mind. You should keep smiling." Several decades had just been shaved off of the elderly German man's life. The Spanish boy was definitely better when he smiled.

Antonio sighed glumly before putting his smile back on. "I wonder why everyone says that when I stop smiling… But anyway, I wanted to ask if I could still stay here."

Garen leveled him a stare, mentally evaluating him for several moments while Gilbert came over, drawn by the sounds of his grandfather calling him a while ago. He was still put out at being automatically assumed guilty, (innocent until proven guilty his ass), so he finished the dishes with Francis before answering to his grandfather's summons.

"What's up, Opa? I didn't do anything bad this time!"

"I know. Antonio is staying here until his parents get home. He is to sleep in your room, and if I catch either of you making any trouble, he can sleep in the garage." Despite his cold exterior, both boys knew that Garen would do no such thing. They cheered, kicked Francis out since it was curfew time, and then retired to Gilbert's room to plot what prank they should pull.

It couldn't be to elaborate since Francis wasn't there to help, but it had to live up to the Bad Friend's standard of excellence when it came to mischief.

*~X~*

**(A/N: So that's chapter 3! I'm glad it took me less time to update than the last chapter. . . I was actually planning to put it up on Halloween, but shit happens, I guess. . . so some notes.**

**Last time I checked, I didn't own Hetalia, give me a second. . . nope, still don't. I guess that's why I'm posting this on Fanfiction, huh?**

**House Rules, the musical that Alfred talks about filming actually started out as a joke. My beta and I rented the musical rent (lol) from Netflix, and beta-sama noted that it must have been some kind of house rule that you had to sing every time you entered or left the apartment, so I'm toying around with whether or not to include an omake chapter of them watching it, and what the script would be like. If I do, the pairings would be Lithuania/Poland, Prussia/Hungary/Austria, and (fake!) Fem!France/(fake!)Fem!England. **

**A personal pet peeve of mine is when people have characters be in a band in a story then they just include the lyrics in the story, and I'm usually like "I thought I was reading a story, not song lyrics!', so I'm going to have the BFBB not do covers unless I can't get around it. If anyone cares, I tried to write snatchettes of the songs they sang, but they stank, and I wasn't going to make you guys suffer for it. I'll most likely focus on how Lovina thinks they did, how the lyrics made her feel, any mistakes or alterations she caught, that kind of thing.**

**This chapter wasn't as long as I promised you all it would be, so I apologize for that, and I'm foolishly promising that next chapter (which I've already started on) will be longer than this.**


	4. new schools, more drama

**(A/N: so, I couldn't believe how fast I got this chapter out! So far it's been my favorite to write, so that probably has something to do with it. I hope it's okay and not to rough. . . it's kinda wordy even though not much time passes . . .oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine. . . probably. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I love you all!)**

* * *

><p>Lovina woke up that morning curled up with her sister. (Oh, and she had no clue what P. Ditty felt like in the morning, so she wouldn't make that comparison.) The two of them were intertwined the way they hadn't since they were small children. Groggily Lovina disentangled herself from her sister and headed out the door. The annoying beeping noise that had woken her up had stopped, and Lovina felt a little bit happy in her mostly unconscious state. It must have meant that Nonno had finally come home and he had turned off his alarm clock. A tiny smile worked its way onto her face, gone a moment later when she yawned…<p>

Funny, Lovina could have sworn the stairs were on the right side of her door instead of the left … whatever, Lovina knew that her judgment and memory were faulty before she had her morning cup of coffee. She made her way down the stairs, not noticing that the style and décor of the house was different than hers.

The mostly unconscious girl wound up in the kitchen, looking high and low for those pesky coffee grounds. Sitting unnoticed behind her, Antonio and Gilbert sat frozen, watching Lovina clad in only her short shorts and a tank top rummaging through the cupboards, muttering in what could have been Italian. The boys had never gone to sleep last night. After waiting for the rest of the household to fall asleep, they snuck into Ludwig's room and reset his clock so it would wake him up hours earlier than his already obscenely early normal time. Then they debated the merits of the idea for a while before deciding that they would want to be up so they could see his reaction (which was sure to be hilarious), and hadn't slept at all that night, what with this distraction and that.

Hey, they were teenage boys! Of course they were ADHD! They stayed still for about a minute when simultaneously they decided that she wasn't fully awake yet and leaned slowly towards each other, never taking their eyes off of the sleepwalking girl. "Do you think she's going to kill us?" All of the Bad Friends had learned through painful experience that you should never look upon a girl's face in the morning before she had a chance to put on makeup or whatever it was girls did. Otherwise, you would wind up with a painful reminder that a woman's face was off limits before it was 'tidied up'.

"Not unless she wakes up." The two boys hissed at each other, feeling like Lovina was a bomb about to go off. Knowing her temper, her reaction was sure to be more violent than most. The girl kept listlessly rummaging around, looking in such odd places as the refrigerator and the trash can, finally throwing her head back and groaning "Stupid Feli, where did you put the coffee?"

Antonio's smile lit up again and Gilbert also seemed to relax. It turned out she was just sleepy and looking for coffee! They had a chance to appease her before she leveled the death strike. Standing up, the Spanish boy stood next to where Lovina was half-heartedly moving things around in the freezer.

"Abuelo keeps the grounds here in the cupboard." He reached over the smaller girl's head to the very back of the top shelf. Grinning, he handed the can to her, and she blinked a few times before giving a tiny smile then frowning.

"Antonio, why are you in my house?" The boy in question couldn't help cooing at how cute she was and chuckling a little. He had never seen her smile before, and it was breath taking! He had thought that Felicia's smile was cute, but Lovina's was magical, beautiful, cute, sexy… oh, he could go on!

"This is Gilbert's house, mí amada." Lovina looked him in the eye, hazy from still being mostly asleep. She blinked a few times, and then the events of yesterday caught up with her and she jumped, looking like she had been shocked.

Looking around, Lovina realized where she was, and more importantly what she was wearing. She could not believe she just paraded around in the potato bastard's house in just short shorts and a tank top!

Gilbert, being the only other person in the room who could sense the mood suddenly had the impression that Lovina was a rattle snake buzzing its tail, about to strike.

"Antonio?"

"¿Sí, miel?" Antonio was smiling happily, reveling in being allowed in her personal bubble.

"I'm going back upstairs to get dressed. You are going to make me coffee. If I catch either you or Gilbert telling anyone about this, I will murder you." She said calmly and slowly. Without waiting for a response, Lovina retreated to her room, muttering curses at creepy teenage boys who stared at people. She looked at the bed and saw Felicia still sleeping peacefully. Glancing at the clock, Lovina noticed for the first time how obscenely early it was. She was going to murder whoever that alarm clock belonged to. Oh well, she concluded; she could be a good big sister every once in a while and let her sister sleep in.

Once Lovina was in her uniform, she went downstairs again. Antonio was by the coffee pot, rummaging around for mugs. Gilbert was still sitting where she had found him, tapping out some kind of rhythm on the counter. "Who in hell would set their alarm clock this early? I was woken up by that fucking beeping! Chigi!" Antonio turned, grinning

"¡Buenos Dias, Lovi! Are you awake now?" Her anger dissipated until it was just her usual morning lack of caffeine grumpy-ness.

"Almost. Coffee. Black." She ordered, and his grin grew wider.

"What's the magic word?" Gilbert thought that her glare could have made Ivan Braginski cringe. Without saying anything else Antonio handed her the cup, watching as she put in her own exact measurements of milk and sugar. She didn't trust anybody else to get it right. Antonio thought it was fun to watch her carefully examine and add her own milk and sugar, taking some, putting a little back, and repeating until she had the right amount. Then she added them and carefully stirred it in, swapping clockwise and counter clock wise motions with her spoon. It was clear that she had a system she used exactly to get her caffeine fix.

Another smile made its way onto her face while she sipped her brew. Now this was what coffee was supposed to taste like. Antonio was about to coo over how cute she looked when she suddenly gave him a push, trying to get him out of the kitchen area.

"Go on, shoo! I'm making breakfast for me and sorella since it's so early, and you'll just get underfoot here."

"Pero, mí amor, ¿lo que me y Gilbert debe comer?" Lovina gave him the hairy eyeball. She didn't understand Spanish very well (or at all) but she could pretty much guess what he was trying to say.

"You two can have whatever we don't eat." That was her gruff reply, but she started getting out enough ingredients to feed everybody. Antonio got out of her way, since she asked, but sat next to Gilbert. It was just too much fun watching her move around the kitchen like a busy bee, making breakfast. For a moment he imagined her in an apron with a ring on her finger, lecturing him to not be late for work… wow, it was really jumping the gun for him to already be having newlywed scenarios.

"What are you two doing up so early, anyway?" She asked while gathering ingredients for pancakes.

"You mean, 'what are we doing up so _late_'. We set Luddy's alarm clock so it would wake him up super-early! And we decided to be down here when he comes down so we could point and laugh, but one thing led to another, and we never went to sleep!" Gilbert cackled hysterically, leading Lovina to the impression that the two teens were a little slap happy, since Antonio kept mixing his Spanish into conversation without realizing it, and Gilbert's laugh was truly off and slightly maniacal. Creepers.

"So it was you two." Ludwig was the next person to enter the kitchen. He glared at his brother and brother's friend. "Guten morgen, bruder." Gilbert said, sly smile on his face.

"You know, if you reset my alarm so early, you should have reset the time too."

"Verdamnt, I knew there was something we were forgetting!" Ludwig rolled his eyes at his slap-happy brother and reached to get a mug so he could make himself some coffee.

At least, he mused, they were considerate enough to start the coffee. Then his hand was slapped away harshly and the German boy found himself chest-to-face with an angry Lovina Vargas.

"Out! Get out! How am I supposed to make breakfast with you milling around like some big ox?" Ludwig retreated, holding onto his mug.

"Hey, Luddy, since you're already in the Danger Zone, would you get me and 'Tonio some coffee?" The only response Gilbert received was a stern glare. Lovina kept moving around the kitchen, making enough breakfast for six people.

"So, quíerda," Antonio began, "what are we having for breakfast?"

"Felicia and I are having pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and whatever fruit the Beilschmidt's have in their fridge."

"But, it looks like you're making so much~."

"Are you calling us fat just because we have big appetites? The nerve!" It was hard to tell from Lovina's end, but Antonio was obviously teasing the Italian girl. She continued separating the dry ingredients from the wet and warming up the oven.

She was still silently preparing food when Garen made his way downstairs. Normally, Garen Beilschmidt was the second person awake in the morning (only Ludwig woke up before him), so he was fairly surprised to see both of his grandchildren (and that Antonio) already up. What surprised him the most was Lovina.

Garen blinked groggily, unable to remember why there would be a teenage girl wearing his grandson's school uniform in his kitchen making breakfast.

"Gilbert, what have I told you about bringing girls home?" Gilbert laughed again, creeping out Lovina.

"But Opa, you were the one who brought the twins home last night!" The sides of Antonio's mouth quirked higher than normal, Ludwig muttered in German (presumably about his weird family), and poured himself a cup of coffee while Lovina was distracted.

It took a few moments for Garen to remember what his eldest grandson was talking about, then he face-palmed and growled "I'm going to _kill_ Romulus. No one, not _one_ of those PI's could find a _single_ hint about where he is." Lovina rolled her eyes and muttered to herself,

"Not if I get to him first." Then she listened to the rest of what Ger-san had to say. "Are you saying there's no trace of him anywhere?"

Ger-san looked at her for a moment and sighed. "No. I've gotten numerous reports of where he's been just nothing about where he is now. No one seems to think he's in any danger, or not perfectly alright. Just give it a few days and they'll have results." Garen assumed it would make sense for Lovina to miss her grandfather a little. Even if it _was_ Roma-kun . . . Lovina let out a barely visible sigh of relief, and returned to her cooking to see Ludwig scrubbing down the area she had just been working in. Now she was offended. It wasn't dirty at all compared to when her sister cooked!

"If you have time to nit-pick, you and your brother set the table!" She said, smacking his hand again. "I'm going to go ahead and get Felicia up since breakfast is ready." With that, she spun on her heel and swept out of the kitchen.

Felicia was right where Lovina had left her, curled up in the bliss of sleep. "Felicia, it's time to wake up." Lovina gently shook her sister's shoulder. Felicia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ve~?"

"It's time to get up and go to school. Your uniform's on the bed there, and I have breakfast ready downstairs."

"Mmm, okay~! Sorella's so nice!" Lovina rolled her eyes when Felicia literally bounded out of bed. The only time Lovina could remember her sister being still was when she was asleep.

Returning downstairs, Lovina found the table set for seven with Gilbert regaling Francis with the story of Lovina's quest for coffee. "I'm going to murder you."

"Oh, come on! It's not like we're going to tell anybody else, and we had to brag about it in front of Francis!" The Frenchman in question looked at Lovina when he had heard her threat.

"You look to tense, cherie, why don't you let me give you a nice massage?" Lovina felt her skin crawl. That was the way That Guy used to look at her, as though she was something juicy to eat! Lovina took an involuntary step back and bumped into Antonio.

"Oh, there you are quierda! Do you want orange juice, apple juice, or milk to drink?" he smiled so kindly at Lovina she felt something sharp hit her heart (metaphorically speaking, the irate Italian girl wasn't being attacked, though she still never let her guard down in front of those three teenage boys). Without flinching, she grabbed the orange juice carton from his hand.

"Che, I'll get my own drink, thank you very much!"

"¡Sí! I just wanted to help out, since you made such a delicious looking breakfast!" Antonio loved how Lovina's blush completely skipped the turning pink step and her face turned fire truck red. But he also felt like she probably wasn't used to being treated nicely or getting compliments. (That was going to change in the near future, believe you me).

It was around then Lovina remembered that Ger-san had set up rules about when Antonio and Francis could and couldn't be in the house and checked the wall clock. Sure enough, it was just turning seven o'clock. "Chigi, I know you said you visited every day, but how often are you guys around?" It was a little ridiculous that he was here the instant curfew allowed. Antonio paused, trying to calculate when the last time he slept in his own house was. Francis spoke up.

"To put it simply, Grand-Pére writes Antoine and me off in his taxes, we're included on the chore schedule, and before you two came, we pretty much had most of our stuff in those rooms." Before Lovina could respond, Felicia skipped into the room, smelling the hot food. She looked at Ludwig who was serving the food and smiled.

"Ve~ thanks, Ludwig! I didn't know you could cook! It smells so yummy!" The German boy turned red when faced with an overly affectionate Felicia hugging him around the middle. Lovina grabbed her ear and twisted, pulling her off of Ludwig. Really! She tries to do something nice, and this is how she's repaid?

"Hey! Didn't I tell you I was the one who made all this! Chigi!" Garen observed Gilbert sitting in his chair at the table and laughing at them. He would have to have a talk with him after the meal. The head of the family sat at the head of the table and waited until everyone else was seated before saying grace. To his pleasure, Felicia and Lovina both obediently held hands with Antonio and Ludwig who were seated on either side of them and bent their heads down. Francis and Antonio had to be taught how to say grace, but it looked like Roma-kun, at least, taught his grandchildren proper table manners.

After the dishes were put into the sink to be washed later, Ger-san pulled Gilbert away into his study. "C'mon, Opa, what could I have done this early in the morning?" Gilbert didn't think this was about setting Ludwig's alarm. If it had been, Antonio would be in here too. And besides, Opa seemed to attribute everyone being up so early to being excited about the cute Italian twins moving in.

"You haven't done anything. I want to talk to you about the future. As you know, yesterday I got legal custody of the Vargas'. That makes them your legal and metaphorical siblings. Meaning…" Ger-san trailed off significantly, seeing the look of astonishment and wonder on his eldest grandson's face.

"You mean… I have… CUTE LITTLE TWIN SISTERS?" Garen had the oddest feeling he would regret this later.

"Yes, and as the eldest brother, it's your job to protect your younger sisters, the same way you look after Ludwig." Although, his attitude immediately after Ludwig's accident had been a little much . . .

"Wait, does this mean you're adopting them?"

"No, I-"

"Cause that would really be a kick in the balls for Roma-kun!"

"Hmm … just go on to school." That would be something to think about later. Gilbert really did have some good ideas every now and them. But on the other hand, he already had two grandchildren… but on the other hand, he could just see the look on Romulus' face… he had always said that his 'adorable grandbabies' were his treasure…

Meanwhile the teenagers were in the drive way looking at Francis' vehicle.

"…You want us to go to school in a rape van?" It was black, huge, with a few scratches and rust spots in the side paneling. Since Francis seemed so finicky with his attire, possessions, and just in general, Lovina decided that he had probably bought it used.

"Well, that's not what we call it…" Antonio said, trailing off.

"It's the Fran-Van, just like 'Tonio's amp is the An-Amp, and my bird is Gil-Bird!"

"You guys are all idiots."

"Say, Gil! What did Abuelo want to talk to you about?" Antonio asked, subconsciously moving closer to Lovina while she was distracted by fixing the tie on her sister's uniform.

"Opa said that since he got the Vargas' that meant that we are metaphorical and legal siblings! Meaning, Tonio, you can back the hell off from mein schwester because, since she's not going to be around That Guy anymore, she doesn't need a fake boyfriend!" Gilbert cackled manically and Antonio slumped. For the first time since Lovina had met him, Antonio seemed like he was about to cry.

Lovina scowled.

"Don't think you're getting out of this so easily! Chigi! If Alfred and Matthew could annoy the secretary into telling them what had happened to us, That Guy definitely will once he realizes that I'm not going to White Valley anymore." Gilbert opened his mouth to protest but Lovina carried on over him. "There's no way he'll buy that we broke up already, and I don't care what Isis or Ger-san say, there's no way in hell I'll acknowledge you or your stupid brother as a Fratello!" Lovina huffed, panting slightly for breath now that her tantrum was over. She hadn't really meant to snap like that, but she was frightened.

It was only a matter of time before That Guy came sniffing around, and he would only be more determined, more angry, more scary than ever since she had escaped from his grasp, no matter how fleeting it had been. Lovina (and Felicia who could pretty much tell what she was thinking) shivered at the thought while Antonio smiled at the reassurance that he could still hang out with Lovina (and work on convincing her to drop the fake… oh well, he would wear her down.)

That, and at the thought of finding That Guy and giving him a talk about how Lovi was a beautiful delicate flower, and NO ONE was allowed to frighten her because she was really so, so, SO much cuter when she was embarrassed at affection like at dinner last night when he would hand her things and smile at her, and she was flushing tomato red. Or unguarded, like this morning and let her true feelings out, smiling in the morning sun. Or protective, like last night when she was trying on uniforms and noticed Ludwig appreciating her sister, with a fiery passion in her eyes.

Antonio was brought out of his musings by the cute Italian twins who had returned to the subject of Francis' van. "There's no way I'm getting in there! If that's what the outside looks like, who knows what kind of diseases are moldering around on the inside?" Lovina and Felicia both seemed united on this front.

"Ve~ Ludwig, couldn't we take the school bus?"

"Nein, it doesn't come this way, and Grandfather already told the school that you and your sister would ride with Francis and Bruder."

"Besides," Francis said opening the side door with a flourish. "We keep the inside immaculate! After all we carry the instruments to gigs in here!" The inside was indeed nicer that the outside. There was white shag carpeting flattened in a few places indicative of where they usually put instruments and equipment. They had obviously ripped out some seats to make room for said instruments, but there was still plenty of room for everyone in the remaining seats, so no one had to sit on the floor.

Felicia climbed in immediately once she was sure that the inside was clean. Lovina was about to grit her teeth and follow when she noticed some hitching pegs on the sides, and a few pieces of coiled rope in a corner. "What the hell?" She asked, picking one up. "How can you say this isn't a rape van?"

"Silly schwester, those are to hold the instruments and gear down so they don't jostle when we drive."

"But still… you can't tell me I'm the only one who ever thought that."

Francis had a flashback to when he had first bought the Fran-Van from an elderly neighbor and was proudly showing it off to Arthur Kirkland.

* * *

><p><em>This would show him! Francis had a van, so he could drive places, and take the WilliamsJones (Jones/Williams?) twins places which would make them love him more, and wouldn't Arthur be jealous because he had to make due with public transportation. Although if he asked nicely and politely, Francis would deign to take him too, out of the goodness of his heart._

_So of course, the minute he bought it he parked it in Arthur's driveway, which wasn't easy because it looked like his older brothers were home visiting for the weekend from university. He had called Arthur outside and stood by the driver's door, nodding smugly, waiting to hear the cries of jealousy._

_Arthur snorted with laughter. "Bloody hell, Frog, that piece of junk fits you perfectly! I can just see you kidnapping children in there…. I better not catch you around Alfred and Matthew!" Arthur was practically rolling on the ground, laughing at Francis' new van. He remained in place until one of Arthur's brothers stuck his head out the door and yelled at Arthur and his 'gay-ass friend' to shut up or go away, because couldn't they tell that they had hang-overs over in the house? Arthur immediately sobered up, and without a word, Francis helped him in the van and they went to the twins' house to stay until Arthur felt it would be safe to return to his own home. …Well, that wasn't quite the reaction he was hoping for._

* * *

><p>Antonio remembered last Halloween when the group dressed up as Olympic skiers, which basically meant heavy jackets and ski masks which had the ring symbols on them.<p>

* * *

><p><em>They wore the masks over their entire faces so that way no one would be able to tell who was who. They were driving to a party, and were stopped at a red light when Antonio who had shot gun had seen an adorable group of small children trick-or-treating and he leaned out the window. "Oye, niño's, do you want some candy?" He held a bag of candy out the window. Antonio loved kids, they were so small and earnest about everything they did.<em>

_Then the parents completely over-reacted. Most of them started hustling the frightened children away while one of the moms sprayed Antonio's exposed eyes with pepper spray. "The Nerve!"_

_"¡Dios mio! ¡Mi oyos! Drive, Franny, drive!"… It wasn't really fair; all Antonio had wanted to do was share the spirit of Halloween with small children!_

* * *

><p>Gilbert remembered after the party that day, the three of them went to go talk to a customer who had hired them to play for his friend's birthday party and had yet to pay them for it.<p>

* * *

><p><em>He worked at an automobile repair shop, and they didn't want to bother him when he was with customers so they waited in the van until there was a slump, and then they entered, still in costume, since it was still Halloween. The guy was apparently surprised to see them, and Antonio and Francis walked over to him while Gilbert satisfied his curiosity and examined the tools he had lying around. Antonio was in a rare bad mood after being maced, so his voice was gruffer than usual when he explained who they were and what they wanted. Not to mention he had red, crazy eyes that showed that his nerves were on end.<em>

_The man's eyes flickered to Gilbert who was cackling while examining a complicated looking tool ("Wow, this looks like it has a huge potential for injury, right guys?"), to Francis who had wandered back to the wan, wondering if he had remembered to lock it properly, since they were in a bit of a seedy neighborhood._

_"Fine, I'll write you a check! Just don't break anything and leave!"_

_"Gracias, amigo! And feel free to hire us for the next birthday, it was fun!" The customer made out a check which Francis grabbed and looked over._

_"Mon ami, this check is simply too much."_

_"Just leave!" The Bad Friends Trio didn't really think much about it and left, thanking him for giving them a 'late fee' bonus and got out quickly. The man must have been expecting a big job or some company if he was so desperate to get them out of his garage. After they got back into the van they realized that if they didn't go ahead and cash the check now then they wouldn't be able to get enough gas to make it back home._

_They double-timed it to the bank and parked across the street. The costumes were fun, and the masks were incredibly comfortable (they actually wouldn't be surprised if everyone started wearing them in the future), so they kept the outfits on while they entered the bank, even though they thought it would make them look like kids._

_Luckily they got at the bank about half an hour before it closed and entered, looking at the other few customers. It was while they were standing in line for the cashier that Francis realized why they were getting so many weird and suspicious looks from the other people._

_Leaning over to hiss in Gilbert's ear, Francis whispered "Sacré Bleu, we should get out of here!"_

_"Huh? Why?" The Prussian boy looked at his watch and realized that it was almost curfew. "Shit, you're right, we're gonna be late!"_

_Antonio heard that and gently nudged the old man in front of them who was leaning heavily on his cane and wearing a very thick sweater even though it was a warm day out. "If you're not in any hurry, abuelo, could we move in front of you, ¿por favor? It's just that-" the Spanish boy yelped while the old man started beating him with his cane._

_Francis continued to Gilbert, ignoring his friends pained yells of "Why, Abuelo? I'm sorry! Why does this always happen to me?", in a whisper. "Think about our costumes! They think we're bank robbers!" That just made Gilbert laugh his crazy laugh, prompting the security guard who had just returned to his position from a bathroom break to draw his night stick and Taser._

_"Show me your hands!" He yelled. Obediently Francis and Antonio put their hands over their heads. This whole 'being in pain' thing was starting to get old for Antonio. Gilbert frowned._

_"Dude, we're just cashing a check!" He started arguing with the guard and long story short, Gilbert learned what it was like to get tazed, and the police were called because of the suspicious van parked across the street and the three men in ski masks in the bank. Once the guys explained their side of things, the police laughed at them, scolded them, and once the check was (finally) cashed, gave them an escort home._

_Ger-san had not been pleased with the police escorting his grandson home, and once they explained (again) the old German man who had thought he had heard it all was speechless._

_… and that, Gilbert remembered, was why they had all agreed to never mention that Halloween in particular again. While they had been lost in their thoughts, Ludwig had somehow coaxed the other twin to sit in the van and to fasten their seatbelts._

"You know," Antonio said, taking the seat next to Lovina, "you have a point, miel." And with that, Francis sat behind the wheel and Gilbert grabbed the shot gun position. The ride to school was short but noisy, and once they arrived Gilbert and Ludwig insisted on taking them to the front office to pick up their schedules.

"After all, until Roma-kun shows up, I'm your awesome bruder!"

"Er, ja, I'll go too, in case you need help picking out classes or something. You know, since we're in the same grade." Lovina's eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. The younger Beilschmidt was getting very chummy with Felicia. Sure, the younger Vargas sister was practically throwing herself at him, but that didn't mean he had to let her!

And Antonio seemed to be taking his 'boyfriend' duties seriously, holding her hand and talking about giving her a 'personal' tour of the place. Since no one was really watching them, Lovi found herself for a moment considering that maybe Antonio really did like her, that he wasn't just doing this because he felt sorry for her or for laughs, or to lord it over her head later. She quickly stuffed the feeling away. No way would she ever let herself be in the same situation she was in now with another guy. The second you even considered that maybe they had legit feelings and perhaps weren't full of crap, they turned into a creeper asshole who tried to control every aspect of your life while lusting after your sister.

Lovina didn't think she was being cynical or anything, it was just being realistic. The point was, she needed to get away from these guys before she started falling into their trap. Once the bad friends trio were distracted by Felicia flirting with Ludwig and the German boy's hilarious reactions, Lovina slipped away into one of the hallways. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to find the main office and pick up a schedule, right?

After a few minutes of getting herself more and more lost (who the hell would have a classroom named room pi? At least it was in the math hall, she conceded…) she literally ran into another girl.

"Oww…" they both said. Lovina took a look at the other girl. She was pretty with long silver hair, wearing a dark blue ribbon in a bow to hold it out of her face. She was also scowling.

"Sorry," Lovina said gruffly, "I was looking for the main office." The girl nodded.

"Yes, I was looking for my brother. Ivan likes to play hide-and-seek. Have you seen him?"

"Um, I haven't seen anyone. I'm new. Lovina." She held out her hand.

"Natalia. My siblings Katyusha and Ivan sometimes call me 'Natasha'."

"My sister and boyfriend call me 'Lovi'; you nick-name's much better." Natalia's eyes were intense, and the grip on her handshake was firm. Lovina liked it.

"I like mine better, too. I'll help you find the main office if you help me look for Ivan."

"Sure." She felt bad for Natalia, knowing all too well what it was like to have troublesome younger siblings. So the girls prowled the hallway, and Lovina thought it was remarkable how there didn't seem to be any teachers posted and the architect was almost definitely drunk when he made the blue prints for this place. Eventually, she gathered they were somewhere in the English hall (since they were in between rooms Comma and Shakespeare) when once again Lovina collided with someone. In her defense, this time he had been the one not looking where he was going.

The boy was about her and Natalia's age, and he had been heading away from somewhere in a hurry. Since he also had white hair and was slightly smaller than both of the girls, Lovina's first impression was that he might have been the little brother that Natalia had been looking for.

"Oh, Natalia. Have you seen my brother?"

"No. Have you seen Ivan?" What was it with the people in this school and their siblings?

"No, but by the way, I'm Tyr. Sorry for bumping into you." Lovina noticed that he was clutching a doughnut in his hands.

"Whatever. Not that I care or anything, but why were you running in the halls?"

"Today they were serving doughnuts in the cafeteria." At her blank look he explained "I'm diabetic, and I checked by blood sugar twice, but my stupid big brother and his friends are overprotective morons and they said I couldn't eat it."

"That's stupid, I mean, you're the one who would know this stuff, right? I'm Lovina Vargas, and my sister and I just transferred from White Valley." This seemed to somehow impress both Tyr and Natalia.

"Wow… Mathias always told me that White Valley was a gang school." Lovina shrugged, apparently White Valley was somewhat tougher than World Series if first impressions were to be believed, and they were certainly grittier than St. Wisteria's.

"Do you know where the main office is? Lovina's looking for it, but Katyusha went ahead and picked up mine and Ivan's schedule."

"No luck, Norge and Mathias got mine, and even if I found Tino, Berwald went ahead and got his…" God, why were they all such freshmen? Lovina sweat dropped. Without really discussing it, the three teens started walking again, away from the cafeteria, to gain some ground between Tyr and his overprotective brother. Surely they would be able to find the main office and Natalia's brother somewhere, right?

Once Tyr had judged they were far enough away, he stopped and looked around furtively. "Do you see anybody?" Natalia shook her head, but Lovina did see someone.

"There's a blonde guy a little taller than Natalia, his hair's to about his shoulders, green eyes, and he's creeping by… the girls' bathroom?" Tyr looked over nervously before relaxing.

"That's just Vash. His sister Eva's probably in there. Some punks started picking on her because she skipped a few grades, and now he's giving my brother a run for his money." Tyr replied, relieved.

"Okay… he's the only one I see."

"Great!" The doughnut was scant centimeters away from Tyr's mouth when it was suddenly snatched away.

"Cool, free doughnut!" A tall guy with spikey blonde hair and a huge smile said, scarfing it down.

Where the hell had he come from? Lovina hadn't seen him anywhere. She had literally been looking at the exact spot he had appeared in, blinked, and suddenly he was there. "My hand slipped." Suddenly another guy appeared out of nowhere (making Natalia and Lovina question their spotting skills, seriously, the doughnut snatching guy was easily one of the taller people Lovina had seen, and he appeared like a ninja!), and slapped the first guy over the head. "There you are, Tyr, we've been looking for you." This was unmistakably Tyr's brother. They had very similar faces and hair.

Tyr scowled and tried to back away but a large hand clasped his shoulder, holding him in place. Lovina was terrified of the scary bespectacled man's glowering face (he wasn't going to hurt Tyr, was he?), but Tyr just sighed and shrugged off his hand. "Fine I won't run anymore, Berwald. But I already told you, I checked my blood sugar twice, and they both said I could have the stupid doughnut, so cut it out with the 'disappointed look'." A smaller man popped out from behind Berwald. This one was as blonde and fair as the rest, but his baby blue eyes and demeanor seemed much more feminine than the others.

"C'mon, Icey, you know Norge was just looking out for you." The first man (who had eaten the treat) said as the small one opened his mouth.

"Don't talk over Tino, Mathias." Berwald growled.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry Tino."

"Su-san! I could have handled it on my own. Besides, Tyr, we were all worried about you, don't run off again."

"Jeeze, wouldn't Tyr be able to tell if he could eat the damn doughnut or not? He's the one who does the testing, right?" All five of the Nordics attention was drawn to Lovina.

"Way to go Icey! Picking up the new chicks! And why haven't we been introduced yet?"

"My hand slipped again."

"My name's Tyr, not Ice or Icey. This is Lovina Vargas and we are not dating. We met literally five minutes ago, if that."

"I know that name…! You're Antonio's girlfriend from White Valley!" He turned to his friend who kept smacking him.

"She's the one who killed that song at the music festival, Norge." Oh, so this was someone who knew Antonio. He had said that they would tell their friends the truth, so this was either someone who wasn't close, or someone Antonio didn't trust with the truth.

"I know that you buffoon, I was the one to tell you about her."

"Jeeze, Ice, Antonio's gonna be pissed if he finds you flirting with his girl."

"Who the hell said I belonged to Antonio? We may be going out, but last time I checked, I was still my own person! Chigi!" Lovina would never belong to anyone else again. No way in hell was she going to allow herself to be saddled with a possessive moron again!

Natalia spoke, covering the slightly awkward pause.

"Have any of you seen Ivan?" Mathias paused and considered it before smiling widely.

"Oh yeah! He's in the band room! Let's go!" The energetic Danish boy led the way, leaving the others to shrug and follow him. Eventually they made their way to the front hall that Lovina had entered the building into which Tino called 'the commons' and stood in front of two doors. One was labeled 'Janitor's closet' and the other 'Music Suite'.

Lovina thought it was a bit presumptuous of them to call it a suite. It couldn't have been much bigger than the closet next to it. But no sooner had Lovina read the label than Mathias flung open the door. It was huge! At first there was a narrow corridor that opened into the main room, with several doors leading off into what Lovina assumed would be storage or practice rooms. Several people were gathered in a loose semi-circle around the blackboard where Gilbert had drawn a rough blueprint of the building. He was gesturing wildly, apparently making some impassioned speech.

"So that's how we're dividing into teams! Red team, you take the English hallway, blue team, take the math hallway! Remember, the target's objective is the main office, and if you see her, bring her immediately back to the music room and radio in to the others! The target may struggle, but use only minimal force!" And sure enough, Antonio was handing out walkie talkies. Why would they have walkie talkies in the music room? Lovina was sure the answer would be stupid.

Rolling her eyes, Lovina walked over to the blueprint and studied it carefully. "So where is the front office?" It looked like the building was arranged in a kind of wheel, with a central hub (that looked like the gym and cafeteria) in the middle acting as the axis and the various spokes meeting there were the class room halls.

"Ve~ Sorella!" And Lovina was tackled to the ground by her little sister's over-enthusiastic hug. "I was so scared when we looked up and you weren't there, and then Gilbert and Ludwig said we should come here to get everybody to help look, and Antonio wanted to go to White Valley to make sure That Guy wasn't responsible, but Francis talked Antonio out of it somehow, and I don't know where Francis went, but-" she was drowned out by Gilbert who joined Felicia in tackling Lovina back to the floor while she had been trying to stand up again.

"Schwester! Don't do that to us, do you even know how worried everyone was? Do you? That's it, for the next two days you can't be alone with Antonio at all!"

"Aww, Gilly, why do you have to punish me, too?" Antonio interjected, pouting.

"Get off of me, you slack-jawed idiot! We're not related, so don't you dare call me that! Chigi, I was gone for maybe ten minutes! What's the fucking deal?" Once she shoved Felicia and Gilbert off, Antonio saw it as his opportunity to cling to her, holding her to his chest so she could feel his frantic heartbeat.

"Mi amor, mi amor, I was so scared, but you're okay… mi amor, mi tesoro…" Like a charm, the Italian girl turned Antonio's favorite shade of tomato red and stammered curses while she pried herself out of his grip, accidentally elbowing him in the face. Tyr observed, from where he was similarly being coddled by the rest of his section (it was kinda cute how they were like a big family of brothers, or at least Antonio thought so).

"You know, I think our situations are surprisingly identical. I feel your pain." Before Lovina could respond, Antonio's amigo Francis walked through the door, talking on his cell phone.

"So he is there? You're certain that he doesn't know anything about this?" On the other side of the call, Alfred looked at the scene in front of him. Matthew was holding his hockey stick threatingly while Feliks held the front of That Guy's shirt.

"So you're saying you totally don't know where Lovina and Felicia are?"

"NO! And Romana didn't go back to her house last night either." Okaaay… Alfred didn't want to know how he knew that, the creeper. And didn't he remember that it was his fault that Lovina refused to be called by her first name anymore?

"You don't know where she is either, right fag? So don't get up in my grill!" Before Alfred even had a chance to defend his friend, Toris pretty much… well, it looked like whenever Mattie would body-check someone while he was playing hockey, except Toris wasn't on the ice.

"Don't. Call. Him. That. Knowing Lovina and Felicia, they probably ran away because you can't figure out that no means no."

Alfred was about to comment on how bad-ass Toris was acting right now when his older-brother-figure spoke again in his dry humor.

'Ah… no need to worry, mon cher. I can see Lovina. She's currently being crushed to death by her sister and Antonio." Alfred felt an uncomfortable twitch in his belly, but pushed it aside. It wasn't any of his business who hugged Lovina Vargas, and she was still standoffish enough from her experiences with That Guy that she was undoubtedly inflicting some kind of bodily harm on the Spaniard right now. And, he smirked while thinking to himself, Alfred was big and strong enough he could beat up Antonio the moment he tried to take advantage of Lovi. That would definitely prove to her that he could be her hero.

Now totally relieved, he pulled his brother and friends away, leaving That Guy confused and angry behind them. Once they were far enough away he drug them into an old unused classroom.

'Why did you do that, Al? I was about to get that hoser!"

'Chill your jets, Mattie, Franny said that he found her."

"Like, wait just one minute; are you two, like, totally saying that you know where Felicia and Lovina are?" Feliks demanded, putting his hands on his hips.

"Uh, yeah. See I saw this lady from Child Protective Services (though I didn't know where she was from at first, I thought she was kidnapping them) take the twins away yesterday, so I bugged the school secretary until she said who the CPS chick was, and then once school was out, Mattie and I bugged CPS until they told us that the twins' neighbor, that Yenta lady, called CPS on them because Grandpa Vargas 'abandoned them' or something like that, and he ended up willing them to his old business partner, Garen Beilschmidt, and so we went to the address Mattie stole, and it turns out it's Gilbert and Ludwig's place! And that jerk Garen withdrew them from White Valley once he heard about That Guy, so now they're going to World Series, but Lovi ditched the Bad Friends Trio when they were going to pick up schedules, but it's okay now, since they found her."

"What the HELL? Why doesn't anyone, like, ever TELL ME when this kinda stuff goes down?" Feliks was furious. He hated the Beilschmidts since Gilbert had been a little homophobic (he was better now), and a bully, and Ludwig had just gone along with whatever Gilbert had said, and now those two had the gall to steal away Feliks' best friends-who-happened-to-be-girls. The Polish boy felt as helpless as when he was little, before Liet had showed up to save him from Gilbert and other bullies like him.

"Well, it just kinda happened, and Alfred and I didn't really think to tell anyone, not even Carlos or Roderich." Matthew said, trying to appease Feliks. The Canadian boy had an idea why Feliks was so angry.

"What, did none of you trust me? Did you think I would gossip about something like this?" Toris sighed, all of his anger leaving in a rush, and he started the monumental task of calming down Feliks when he was in a temper.

* * *

><p>Back at World Series (with the plot), Lovina was finally standing upright again. One of Ludwig's friends who had introduced himself as Honda Kiku had stepped forward.<p>

"Ano, if it wouldn't be intruding, my cousin Yao asked me to help his brother and the exchange student living with him get their class schedules as well." He gestured to a boy who was about the same height and build as Tyr, and a girl with long brown hair who wore flowers in it and had a bright friendly smile. "I would be honored to accompany you to the main office." Ludwig nodded.

"Yes, it would be more efficient to go as a group."

"Kesesese, no need to get all formal on us, Kiku. By the way, these are my awesome metaphorical schwesters, Felicia and Lovina Vargas!" After the Italian twins were introduced to Kiku, Yao's brother Leon (or Xiao, no one was positive which, and the boy from Hong Kong was being intentionally vague) and the exchange student from Taiwan, Mei, they finally made their way to the office, which was not in the central hub where they expected it would be. Instead it was at the end of the science hall, partially obscured by the diorama outside room Kelvin.

The secretary sitting behind the desk was a short, plump woman with frizzy blonde hair that was eighty-five percent likely to have come from a bottle. Francis winked at her, and she giggled, rolling her eyes at him. "Surely you three haven't gotten in trouble already!" She said, referring to the Bad Friends Trio.

"Nein, not at all! We're here to help mein schwesters get their new schedules! Didn't Opa call up here?" The secretary saw the twins then and beamed at them.

"Oh, are these Romulus' granddaughters? They look just like him!" Of course this would be another woman Nonno had flirted with. "I've got your schedules most of the way finished," she put two pieces of paper on the counter. "We just need to pick out your three electives."

"Three? At White Valley we only had to have two…" Felicia trailed off.

"Well, these things are different at every school, darling. But don't worry about a thing, I went ahead and put you and your sister in choir. Lovina was just so pretty at the music festival."

"¡Sí! Wasn't she, Mrs. Greta? Mi amor has the voice of an angel!" Lovina stood on Antonio's foot. If he kept on complimenting her like that it would look like over kill, even to people who didn't know anything about their situation.

Mrs. Greta just smiled. "Am I going to have to remind you about the school policy on public displays of affection?" The Spanish boy shrugged, smiling like a little kid who knew a funny joke.

"Probably." This earned more chuckling from the maternal secretary, who noticed the shape of instrument cases through the twins' backpacks.

"Oh! Let me guess, that's a clarinet!" She exclaimed, writing spring and fall band down without consulting them or waiting for an answer to her guess. Lovina didn't really care, she would have signed up for band anyway, but were did Mrs. Greta get off, signing them up for things without even asking. While she was musing this, Felicia signed them both up for one of the art classes. The schedules were typed up, printed out and laminated before Lovina had a chance to register that maybe she didn't want to be in art.

Ludwig and Gilbert were looking at them when Gilbert cackled. "We're all in band and choir with you guys, and Franny's in your art class, with Luddy!"

"Ja, Felicia and I have the same schedule."

… It was official, Lovina's life was hell. Kiku was busy helping Leon (Xiao?) and Mei sign up for classes so he only nodded at them when Felicia glomped Ludwig's arm and insisted that she would never be able to hind her first class on her own (though that probably actually wasn't flirting), and Antonio took Lovina's hand gently, offering to take her to her first class. Gilbert snatched both of the Italian twins' schedules again.

"Yeah, Luddy, it'll be your job to make sure Feli gets around okay… since Antonio's taking Lovina to her first class… Francis, your second period is only two doors down from hers, so you're taking her there-"

"Je peux faire ça"

"Hey! I can talk on my own! Getting lost this morning was a one-time thing!"

"Yeah right, one of us will walk you around until you know your way and you're no longer a flight risk." She growled impressively, but Gilbert didn't pay her any attention.

"All of us are in choir, so-"

"I'll take her!" Antonio chimed in, looking over Gilbert's shoulder at the paper, "And I can take Lovi to her next two classes" and so, over Lovina's protests, she had a babysitter to shepherd her to her classes. So much for any attempts to make a good first impression. She could only imagine what the kids in her classes would say.

* * *

><p>Antonio was on cloud nine, walking down the halls with Lovi, holding hands! When she tried a few times to pull away with no success she seemed 'resigned', but really Antonio could feel her start to hold his hand back instead of merely allowing her hand to be held. Her fingers shyly intertwined with his instead of bending away from his. "Oh, this is handy, miel; it says that your locker is just outside the commons." He led them to the locker specified and checked. Sure enough, it was one of about fifty in the school that actually locked most of the time.<p>

"Why is that a good thing again?" It would take a while to get from her locker to any of the classrooms, and she would be riding with the Bad Friends anyway, so it wasn't like she had to rush to catch the bus.

"Most everybody in the music department (you know the band and choir) hangs out there before and after school and during AA." It was really fun, almost having their own clubhouse they could go to that would make school more and more fun! Antonio couldn't wait to show her the ropes, he was sure that she would love it! Making new friends would make her happier to be at World Series, right?

"Alcoholics Anonymous?" Wow, Lovi was so adorable. But then again, everyone had thought that was what AA stood for when they saw it on their schedules at the beginning of the year.

"Nah, it stands for Advisor/Advisee. You basically meet for two weeks and talk about college and what you want to do, and fill out a form, and after that they let the students sign out to go to tutoring, if they need it. The athletes go hang out in the gym, the Goths go to the art rooms, and us bandos usually go to the band room! If anyone asks, we're doing 'music theory lessons', okay?" Lovina seemed taken aback by his smile, and it randomly occurred to Antonio that Lovina might not like it if he knew her combination. So he handed Lovi's schedule back to her and said "I'm sure everyone in the music department will love you!" After all, band was family as the band director always said, and she was so cute! And she was smart judging by her classes, and her reactions were funny, and even if she seemed a bit repressed, Lovi was still a fun person to be around.

"Yeah, aside from the competitive dicks…" Although, her pessimism wasn't very cute. Antonio was thoughtful for a moment, considering if they had any of those in their band or choir.

"Our band isn't like that. We all know that what really matters is the ensemble and any in-fighting just makes us look bad. You'll see, just wait until lunch, me amada."

Lovina wasn't so sure. It sounded suspiciously cliquey, and she had never integrated into pre-established groups well (unlike her sister). But it wasn't worth it to argue this point with Antonio. Why would he understand her position at all? It was obvious that he was a 'bando', and from his point of view, everything probably was as nice and clean cut as he made it out to be. Lovina remembered how many people had yelled and cheered for the Bad Friends Boy Band at the music festival. People, obviously not just in band liked him and his friends.

Oh well, he would figure out what she meant as soon as she didn't become super-awesome-bestest-friends with the first music nerds she saw. Antonio seemed to take her doubtful silence as agreement because he looked at her schedule over her shoulder once more for reference and smiled.

"Oh, you have Mrs. Anne for English! She's a real nice lady! By the way, I was meaning to comment earlier, I'm not sure when you and Felicia moved here, but your English is a lot better than mine! Sometimes, if I'm surprised or distracted I just start talking in Spanish again, but I haven't heard you speak Italian yet, but I'm sure it's really pretty!" Antonio carried on for a while, keeping his monologue running so that Lovina only had to nod every now and then. He talked about how hard a time he had had when he moved from Spain to America when he was ten, how he hated the city because there was no adequate room for a proper garden, how he didn't think fruits and vegetables from the supermarket were as good, and eventually worked his way back to how great a teacher Mrs. Anne was, and that as long as she did decent on the vocabulary exams, she would have some wiggle room to slide by with grammar. Eventually they made their way back to room Comma (where Tyr had run into Lovina while escaping his brother and brother-figures) and Antonio held her hand the whole way and stood with her at the door and wished her luck with her first class.

To her horror, before Antonio skipped off to his own class, he kissed her on the cheek and called her something that sounded too sappy to be legal in Spanish.

Lovina Vargas just stood there in shock for maybe ten seconds until a lady Lovina could only assume was Mrs. Anne cleared her throat.

"I've heard that Antonio Carriedo was a good kisser, but would you mind clearing the doorway?" The Italian girl turned her soon to be famous shade of red and thanked her lucky stars that no one else was in the classroom yet. Mrs. Anne smiled. "I don't think I've seen you around before, are you new?"

"Um, yeah, I'm Lovina Vargas. I transferred today from White Valley." Lovi though she should at least start off on the right foot with someone. Mrs. Anne nodded.

"I'm Mrs. Anne. Is that an Italian accent?"

"Yeah, my sister and I moved in with our Nonno from Italy when we were twelve."

"That's nice. Just take a seat anywhere, I don't assign seats. I won't say anything this time, but warn Antonio that most teachers make a big deal out of public displays of affection, and he shouldn't get you in trouble on your first day of school."

The Italian girl huffed and rolled her eyes. "I've been telling him that for a while. Stupid Antonio doesn't listen to anybody, though." She thought that sounded about right. Was that how boyfriends and girlfriends talked about each other?

She couldn't judge her and Antonio's fake relationship the way she could with her and That Guy. Antonio probably wouldn't stalk her, and in spite of his habit of holding her hand as often as he could manage or stealing kisses on the cheek, forehead, or nose if they were around people (or anytime really, since only a teacher had seen him kiss her outside the classroom), Lovina severely doubted that he would push her for sex if she wasn't ready… so she tried to imagine it had been Antonio.

Antonio who had been the first boy to ever be interested in her. If Antonio had been her first boyfriend. If he had (and she was not enjoying the fantasy-scenario, this was not a fantasy) and the last seven months were just a bad dream, when she complained about his touch-feely-ness to a teacher, wouldn't she sound exasperated, but with a slight undercurrent of affection? Wasn't that how actual real relationships worked?

Mrs. Anne frowned slightly, making Lovina question her acting ability. "Just remember to set clear boundaries, or else men- even ones as sweet as Antonio- will end up taking advantage." On that awkward note, Mrs. Anne left to get some coffee from the teacher's work room and Lovina tried to find an inconspicuous desk to sit in. A few people were already coming in and sitting down.

Chigi, Lovina had to remind herself that this wasn't White Valley, and no one would try to beat her up because she sat in their seat. The worst that could happen would be that they'd tell her to move her fat ass.

"Did you get your schedule okay?" Lovina jumped a foot when she heard the familiar voice behind her.

"Chigi! Tyr, don't sneak up on people like that!" Leon and Tyr were behind her.

"Sorry. Mathias says that I'm part ninja."

"Whatever, I wasn't scared or anything. I was just surprised."

"Sure." Leon replied, not really caring about what Kiku would have called 'Lovina's tsundere syndrome'. "What did you get for your electives? I'm in band, choir, and pottery."

"The same, except my third's art." The two new students turned to look demandingly at Tyr. He seemed to understand what they wanted because he answered. "The same, except I'm in pottery with Leon. But welcome to band. We usually sit over here." Tyr led them to the far left side of the room, the last column of desks in the middle of the row, not in any corner.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Lovina was glad she wasn't the only noob in this situation. She could let Leon ask the questions and just look aloof and off to the side the way she preferred to be.

"Oh, all of us in music just tend to gravitate together in classes and at lunch. The other ones in this class are Eva, Natalia, Im Yong Soo, Michelle, and Lise. They're pretty good people. Do you mind if I see your schedules?" They both handed them over, and Tyr looked at them, nodding to himself.

"Yeah, I thought so. Mrs. Greta likes to put us together, look, I've got all the same classes as Leon, and Lovina, and you're with Eva and Michelle. You almost have the same schedule as Natalia and Lise, but they've got photography as their elective."

"What are they like?" Lovina asked, breaking her previous decision to stay silent.

"Pretty cool. Michelle (or it might be Angelique, I'm not positive which is her middle name, but she doesn't care which you use) is nice. She's the one with brown skin and red ribbons. She's kinda outgoing and her favorite food is fish. It looks like she was pretty much raised by Francis and Arthur Kirkland from St. Wisty's, so she gets along with both of them very well." Tyr considered Eva for a moment before beginning again.

"Eva is actually a few years younger than us, but she jumped… I think it was three grades … but the thing is, she's Vash Zwingli's foster sister, and he's been getting more and more protective since he found out about her getting teased for her stammering and those rumors about the two of them being together romantically. A few of us have tried to point out that practically shooting anyone who looks at her funny doesn't really help with those kinds of rumors, but Vash's always been anti-social. Eva herself is pretty shy, but if you talk to her she'll talk back." Tyr handed back the schedules and Lovina felt relieved she wouldn't have to have Francis walk her to her next class. She could just get Michelle or Eva or Natalia to take her.

The Belarusian girl was next in the room, and she sat next to Lovina. "What's your schedule like?"

"Here. I'm in band, choir, and my sister signed both of us up for art for our electives."

"Good, you're only in band with brother." She held Lovina's gaze. "I heard that you and Antonio fight a lot. Don't go dragging Ivan into your messes."

"Hey, I hate doing anything in public; forget dragging people I don't even know into fights. Did you ever find him, by the way?"

"Yes, big brother is getting too big to hide easily." Oh. Lovina hadn't expected Natalia's brother to be older than her. Go figure.

The next two people to come sit by them were girls whose heads were leaned together whispering conspiratorially in French.

Tyr flicked an eraser at them. "So who were you trying to make paranoid by 'gossiping about them in a different language' now?"

"Cindy and her cheerleader friends. They were talking about stealing Eva's gym clothes, so we told Vash, and we wanted to make them squirm. We were really talking about our math homework … could you help us later? It's also going to be Eva's birthday in a few weeks, so we're planning a party… oh, Lovina's in our class! Isn't that great, Lise?" Judging by Tyr's description, the petite girl who chattered away easily in both languages had to have been Michelle. Lise had longish blonde hair twisted into a French braid that she rested on her left shoulder. Lovina's impression was that she was much more studious than Michelle thanks to the square glasses she pushed up her nose. Michelle continued on without waiting for Lise's opinion.

"Man, I was kinda wishing that you could have stayed hidden for five more minutes. It would have been so much fun to have a scavenger hunt! Although Francis was getting kind of worried, though it wasn't anything like Gilbert and Antonio. So, what does your schedule look like?" This girl was just like Felicia, Lovi decided. Once she started talking, there was almost no way to stop her. A small part in the back of Lovina's mind wondered how Felicia was handling her first class.

"Tyr said that I had the same schedule as you and Eva."

"Cool! Say, do you want us to show you around? This school is terrible to navigate if you don't know it very well." Lovina nodded, and then she saw the same guy who had been creeping by the girls' restroom earlier by the door escorting a girl that looked like she could have been his biological sister. She was short, betraying her younger relative age, and her fair blonde hair was cut in a style identical to his. Her eyes were wide green and innocent. Eva Zwingli sat down in the last spare seat with the other music nerds.

"H-hi. We haven't b-been pr-properly i-introduced." She whispered nervously.

"I'm Lovina Vargas. Tyr told me about you, Eva Zwingli, right?" The girl nodded, and just because Lovina could already tell that it would be physically impossible to not like her, she added "Michelle and Tyr also mentioned that we have the same schedules. Do you want to be friends?"

The younger girl's face lit up and she smiled. "I-I'd love to!"

Lise cut in. "Leon, have you seen Yong Soo? He's normally here by now." The Italian girl felt happy that they weren't all making a huge deal out of the new kid, and they still made her feel welcome.

"Yeah, I forgot to say earlier. He's got a cold, so sensei's making him stay at home. It's weird to see him actually stay still for five seconds, but he's still as loud as ever, so he's probably almost over it."

Mrs. Anne spoke as the morning bell rang obnoxiously. "Okay everyone, let's get started!"

To her surprise, Lovina felt that Antonio may have had a point. She was already treading water when she had expected to drown.


	5. oh wait, i forgot we had a plot

**(A/N: so I'm updating this instead of studying for finals ((lol)), so appreciate it! I've got a few notes, regarding things in the chapter I'll probably need to explain. First off is Kim-Ly. That's what I decided Vietnam's name would be. it means 'golden lion', and I thought that sounded appropriately cool enough for her. Next is Lovina's range. They say to write about what you know, so I made her a mezzo-soprano and gave her my own range. I'm not sure what that means about her potential, because I've had two voice teachers, one of whom said I'd never be an operatic soprano, the other suggested that with more training I'd be lovely in opera. So who really knows . . . the thing with music is that I'd all subjective. For example, for the last three months of school, my high school music teacher had me change between 1****st**** and 2****nd**** soprano, which was based on the singers range. Mr. Jethrow Holland is an original character meant to be a parody of my high school music teacher whom we all kind of adored. He's sort of like an 'ideal professional' type of guy who somehow managed to win the respect of all of the characters in hetalia (though he's no marty-stu). I borrowed his first name from a favorite cop show I like, and his last name from a movie about a composer turned music-teacher. A shout out will go to the first person to tell me which movie! A few people have corrected me on my foreign languages, and I'm grateful, but let me point out that I'm using foggy memories of high school Spanish and Google translate for these parts. Sorry if it's not 100% accurate . . . Wow, what a long author's note . . . just in case you didn't realize, I don't own hetalia. 'kay thanks.)**

After class Lovina found herself laughing at a funny story Michelle had told while she and Eva followed after the Seychellois girl and Lise. Then Lovina's good mood fell flat when she saw Francis waiting in the hallway. Michelle apparently didn't feel the same way.

"Frere! What brings you here?" She cried, throwing herself into his arms for a hug.

"Ah~ Angelique! Lise! I had forgotten you two were in this class! Frere agreed to help Gilbert out, so I'm escorting Lovina to her next class."

"Well, you don't need to anymore; I've got Eva and Michelle-"

"It's Angelique!" Francis interrupted. Lovina rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, but the point is I've got them to show me where to go!"

"Are you saying Francis can't come too?" Angelique asked, eyes going wide . . . dammit, Lovina was a sucker for puppy faces. Turning red (with anger and exasperation!) Lovina looked to the side, giving in.

Lise smiled a little while Michelle (or Angelique as Francis and Lise called her), and the Frenchman cheered… it wouldn't be as bad if it looked like Francis was following the other two girls he seemed to know very well, would it?

The walk itself was painless and at the door Francis gave them their books back (He insisted on carrying them for the girls) and kissed Angelique (or whatever her name was) on the hand. Upon seeing Lise's slightly expectance look, he also kissed her hand murmuring something kindly in French. Looking up he saw Lovina, Eva, and Natalia watching.

"Do you-"

"Touch me and die, perv." Lovina said. Eva moved slightly behind Natalia who let something metallic flash which made Francis' face pale considerably.

"My, how uncouth. Just make sure not to teach those kinds of words to Lise and Angelique, oui?" Ugh, his voice was so slimy, it sounded like he was one of those snake-oil salesmen.

Lovi was about to tell him where he could stuff 'those kinds of words', but Eva tugged gently on her sleeve, making her notice the teacher standing just inside the doorway. Muttering, Lovina stalked into the room. She saw Leon and Tyr already sitting, this time in the back left corner of the classroom.

"So I take it Francis took you guys by the scenic route?" The boys had been waiting a while now for the girls to show up…

"Oui, he wanted to show Lovina the sights on the way." Lise explained sitting down gracefully. Michelle giggled and sat down too.

"If you're not careful Lovina, Frere will add you to his collection of little sisters. None of us are really related to him," Michelle added the last seeing the questioning look on Lovina's face, "but there's me, Lise, Kim-Ly* (though she doesn't acknowledge it), and I guess Mathieu and Alfred count even though they're boys." Before Lovina could sit down in one of the available seats, she was tackled from the side (thankfully she remained upright) and her sister was chattering in her ear about how she was so thrilled to see Lovina, that her first class was awesome, and Mei and Kiku were SO nice, and had she made any friends yet? And Ludwig was so smart and cool, and they should ask him for tutoring. Somehow Felicia reverted to Italian without Lovina noticing.

"Feli, that's enough!" She barked in the same language.

"…Wow, there are two of them." Eva said, almost too quietly to be heard. Oh yeah, Lovina realized, Eva, Michelle, and Lise hadn't met Felicia yet.

"But somehow I don't think we'll have trouble telling them apart." Lise added.

"This is Felicia, my little twin sister. Feli, this is Leon, Tyr, Eva, Lise, Natalia, and Michelle." Lovina carelessly waved at each person and grabbed the seat behind Natalia. This would be the part where they all realized how cute and nice and funny and innocent Feli was and that they'd all much rather be her friend than Lovi's. She busied herself grabbing a textbook for herself and Feli from the front of the classroom and sitting back down. Two other Asians and Ludwig were also sitting in the band corner.

"Hi! Felicia talked about you a lot! You're Lovi, right?" The pretty girl asked. Now Lovina remembered. They were Mei and Kiku Honda who had gone with them and Leon to the front office.

"It's Lovina, but yeah." Mei introduced them again, and affectionately took Kiku's arm.

"He's kinda shy, but if you need any help with math, he's your guy!"

"Sure." No way would she go bothering Kiku when she just met him. That's what they made the internet for, after all.

And then the teacher started. Good lord, Lovina had forgotten, math was her absolute worst subject! At least it seemed like the teacher didn't expect much from the two girls from White Valley, although that made her a little angry. Who was this teacher to assume that just because White Valley was on the other side of the tracks they would be terrible at academics? She knew lots of people in White Valley who were awesome at math; she just had never been one.

Lovina struggled through the lesson and made a sigh of relief once the bell rang, releasing them from that particular class.

"So, Lovina," Michelle said while they were gathering books. "I didn't see the music festival, are you an alto or soprano?" She asked.

"I'm a mezzo soprano, though at White Valley, our music director kept swapping me between first and second soprano*."

"Cool! I'm an alto, along with Natalia, and Lise. Eva's a soprano like you. How about you two, Felicia, Mei?

Mei chimed in "I'm an alto!" Feli nodded

"Ve~ I'm a soprano, but I was always second." Of course, Michelle was just being polite and asking her to include her in the group. Lovina shouldn't have expected anything different. With a tiny sigh, she slowed her steps, drifting to the back of the group.

"Th-thanks for waiting, Lovina!" A tiny voice said. Sure enough, Eva fell into step with her. "My bag just refused to shut!" Eva chuckled shyly then glanced at Lovina.

"Bruder took me to the music festival. You were amazing, I don't know if I've ever heard anyone sing like that before."

Lovina blushed, embarrassed at the praise. Eva reminded her a little of Matthew. They were both shy, kind of easy to forget and too willing to be in the back, but when they complimented you, they meant it. Before she could say anything she was hugged from behind, causing her to panic and start kicking and struggling.

"Aw, how cute! ¡Como un tomate!" Antonio cooed, letting her go quickly.

"Antonio, what the hell were you thinking, grabbing me out of nowhere?"

"I was thinking that I would walk you to choir." Oh great, now he was pouting, and she had to pretend to be a good girlfriend and comfort him.

"L-look, you just startled me, I was trying to talk to Eva, and you randomly grabbed me." She awkwardly patted his shoulder. "Stop pouting, I'm not that angry at you."

"Really?" His voice was painfully hopeful, making Lovina squirm. He knew that it was all an act, right? She had told him this morning that the reason she was still 'going out' with him was because she wanted a buffer for when That Guy found out where she and her sister were. Should she pull him aside and have a 'talk' with him? No one who was playing at a relationship looked at someone like that, or acted so touchy-feely without branching into perverted land.

"W-wow, you two make a cute couple." Eva commented, watching them with a small smile on her face.

Antonio beamed. "You think so, too?"

Lovina rolled her eyes and tugged on his sleeve. "Didn't you say something about walking me and Eva to class?"

"Ah, sí!" And with that he took her books from her and balanced them in one hand, while the other took one of hers that had still been hovering in the air from holding her things.

"Let's go, mi princesa!"

"Ugh, look, we have to talk. These pet names are annoying, and stupid, and I can't understand any of them." And they made her heart tingle in new and scary warm ways.

"You don't like then nick-names? I think they're cute. 'Mi princesa' means 'my princess' in English. Back in España, guys would call their girlfriends that all the time~! It's cute like you!"

"I don't like it when you call me names in different languages! I speak Italian and English! If you're going to talk to me, do it in one of those. Chigi!" She muttered for a few seconds in Italian, mostly swearing at those boys back in Spain who had made Antonio think that it was acceptable for guys to call their girlfriends embarrassing names.

Eva followed them, giggling a little at their antics. Gee, she thought, this must be what real lovey-dovey couples acted like. Antonio Carriedo clearly adored Lovina, and Eva could tell that the Italian girl was flattered by his attentions, and it didn't sound like she was being very firm with her demands. It looked like they were flirting, even if Lovina was doing it subconsciously.

"So Eva, do you have a lot of classes with Lovi?" Antonio asked nicely.

"Ah!" Eva hadn't noticed the Spaniard trying to get her attention. "U-um, yes, we h-have th-the same schedule." Curses, why couldn't Eva ever be loud?

"¡Bueno! Quierda has a sharp tongue but she's a really nice person."

"Who has a- you know what, never mind." Lovina grumbled

By now they had made it back to the 'music suite'. Vash was waiting at the door and he immediately zoomed to Eva's side. "Bruder! Have you met Lovina Vargas yet? She's new, and we have the same schedule!" The Italian girl quirked an eyebrow. Eva spoke more confidently, and didn't stutter at all when she addressed her foster brother. Vash Zwigli looked her over from head to toe and made what was probably an attempt at friendly acknowledgement.

"We haven't yet been introduced, but I saw her this morning, running around in the halls with Natalia and Tyr." Lovina wondered if he was always this stiff, or if he just woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.

Antonio acted as though it wasn't anything unusual, so she took her cue from him. "Ah! That must have been this morning before we got Lovi's schedule, when she got lost!" Antonio chimed in.

"I didn't get lost; I just left you guys behind! Chigi!" Lovina was about to continue her scolding when a female giggled from behind.

"You must be Lovina Vargas!"

The group of five came into the band room and Femke waved cheerily at Lovina before going to sit with her brother. Looking as though he had seen a ghost, Antonio sat heavily down in his desk. Felicia, who had been chatting happily with Ludwig and Kiku, astutely looked at Femke, Lovina, and Antonio.

"Ve~ I bet I know what happened." She gently put her hand on his arm. "Femke's a very pretty girl, isn't she?"

"Wha-? I thought-"

"Sorella's bi. If I had to guess, I'd say she likes girls better . . . it makes sense if you think about it, since she's still put off from That Guy." Antonio was nonplussed.

"I never expected that to happen." Francis and Gilbert plopped into their seats next to Antonio and in front of him. "What didn't you expect?"

"Lovi was flirting with Femke, and I think Femke was sort of flirting back- you know she's always been a tease, and Feli just said that Lovi was bi, and that she probably liked girls better." Francis started snickering. He could see the humor since he was also bi, although he was evenly split with his preferences. Gilbert smiled wolfishly but thankfully didn't comment. It was his schwester's decision whether or not to drop Antonio for Femke. Antonio growled a little and smacked Francis on the arm.

"Shut up! I'm having a crisis here!"

"What's a crisis?" Lovina asked, sitting next to her sister gracefully (in Antonio vision, really she just kind of fell into the chair after stumbling on a sleeping kid's backpack strap).

"Lovi~" Antonio cooed, forgetting his problem for the moment.

"What, I was gone for maybe half a minute, geeze, if it meant that much to you, you could have shown me where to put my stupid clarinet." She flicked her gaze between the Bad Friends Trio suspiciously.

"Ah, Lo siento, I just missed you~" Francis and Gilbert picked up on Antonio's rising stress level because of his slip into his native language. It was hard to tell if Lovina noticed or not.

"Whatever. So how does this choir usually work?" Antonio leaned back in his desk so he could be closer to Lovi. Grinning he replied "Well, it usually takes Holland* a few minutes to get back, since he has bathroom duty in the science hall, making sure kids don't sneak in there between classes to smoke. So we chill until he gets back. He trusts us seniors enough to make sure the underclassmen don't make trouble. Since you, Feli, Mei, and Leon all need to be sorted into sections, he'll take you into his office with Kim-Ly over there-" he pointed to a tall Asian girl with long hair who was talking unsmilingly with a guy with glasses who was smiling happily, running a hand through his spikey hair and had a picture of an elephant taped to the side of his saxophone case.

"She's the accompanist, but she'll play scales on the keyboard in there and you'll sing along so Mr. Holland can get an idea about your ranges, and he'll tell you where to sit, and then we'll all warm up, and he mentioned that we'd get a new piece today!" Antonio explained all of this with a grin.

It meant something that she was sitting next to him, and not Femke, right? It meant something that she had asked him and not Francis who had that knowledgeable aura, or Gilbert who had declared himself her brother. Sure, it could have been keeping up appearances because of their 'fake' relationship, but she was still going to him! The passionate Spanish boy made a decision. He would follow Lovina's lead and back off when she wanted him to, but he'd romance, and charm, and woo, and court her until the twice shy Italian girl fell for him the way he felt like he had fallen for her, until they both forgot about that stupid 'fake'. Until she forgot about That Guy and Femke, and was in love enough with him that Alfred would realize that he never had a chance anyway, and Lovina felt like the most loved and adored princess ever.

Now that Antonio had figured out what he was going to do, today was one of the best ever, and it wasn't even lunch yet!

Gilbert rolled his eyes. He could see the cogs working in Antonio's mind and could pretty much tell that he had decided to smother his new schwester until she loved him back and forgot that she was bi. Well, the Prussian boy would watch over Lovina carefully and step in if it looked like Antonio was getting too intense. After all, Lovina didn't need two stalkers… maybe he should steal the Fran-van, go to White Valley and take care of That Guy first?

Francis thought it was droll the way he could read his friends thoughts just by looking at their eyes (Bad Friends, after all was said and done). It would be amusing to sit on the sidelines this time and watch the two of them fight like dogs over the new toy- er, Lovina, while she was none the wiser. Although if Gilbert thought he was using the Fran-van without refilling the gas tank, he had another think coming. He knew it had been a good idea to play the Music Festival, he would have to thank Mr. Holland for suggesting it to them (even though, it was more of an 'I signed you up, don't embarrass the school'.)

Speaking of, Mr. Holland walked in, muttering about something or another.

"Berwald, has anyone called yet?" The terrifying Swedish guy Lovina had seen that morning quit his conversation with Lars, Femke's Dutch brother and shook his head.

"Nothing. Didn't you set the phone to forward calls to your cell?"

"I tried, but the infernal thing wouldn't let me."

Natalia turned from where she and Katyusha had been going over music. "Hmm? Are you expecting something?" The seniors shared a significant look, but Mr. Holland just sighed.

"It's nothing really, just more inter-school stuff. Which reminds me, we have four new students?"

Mathias spoke up. "Yeah, they're all freshmen like Icey though. Yao's kid brother, that one foreign exchange chick who got the tour last week, and two girls from White Valley."

Lovina thought that Mr. Jeff Holland* (according to her schedule) seemed okay. He wore clothes that were just on this side of not as professional as he could have been. They hung a little baggy on his chubby frame, so Lovina deduced that he was probably on a diet. His sandy brown hair was thinning slightly and there was a bold patch on top of his head, probably from stress (she knew that she wouldn't want to be in charge of teenagers, especially highly strung creative ones). He looked at his new class register by his computer which sat on a sad looking metal cart that had been painted dull beige to match the walls.

"So, Lovina and Felicia Vargas, Mei, and Leon Wang come to my office; Kim-Ly too, please." Mr. Holland briefly went over what Antonio had already explained would happen to Lovina.

"So who wants to go first?"

The Italian girl's mouth clamped shut. No way would she be the first one. Lovina knew that she was a decent singer (it was the only thing she knew she was better at than Felicia), but she would NOT look stuck up and volunteer to go first. Leon appeared to share her sentiments, and even Mei seemed a little hesitant.

Felicia, of course, immediately put her hand up. "Oh! I'll go!" …of course, charming, outgoing Felicia would be the first one to volunteer. She cheerfully skipped into Mr. Holland's office, followed by Kim-Ly who was stretching her fingers and wrists, getting ready to sort the new kids and then warm up the choir. The door closed, and a light chatter started up.

Antonio scooted his desk closer to Lovina's. "How were your first two classes, Lovi?" Lovina fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"English was fine, we were using the same textbook at White Valley, but math was a bitch." She considered mentioning how the teacher just expected them to be bad, but decided not to. She didn't want him to think she was blaming the teacher because she was bad at it.

"Oh yeah, math is tough. Was your class at White Valley at a different spot?"

Lovina shifted nervously. "We had a different textbook, but That Guy-" her mouth twisted unconsciously "always sat behind me. You try concentrating on coordinate geography or whatever with his staring at you and…humph, I've just never been good at math."

Here was another contradiction. Antonio wanted to squeal because Lovi's face was tomato red and she was so cute, but he also really wanted to find That Guy and make him pay for scaring Lovi so badly it affected her schoolwork. Before he had time to make a decision on what to do, Mr. Holland opened his office door and Felicia skipped out.

"Lovina, how about you next?" Antonio's soon to be, now 'fake', girlfriend shrugged and sauntered into his office, only her clenched hands and stiff shoulders gave away how nervous she actually was. He gave her a full smile of support, and he was almost sure she had seen it before the door closed, sealing the noise out of Mr. Holland's office.

Lovina took a deep breath. There was absolutely no reason to be nervous. It was just a few scales. All it was for was for sections in this choir that she was stuck in until Nonno got over his mid-life crisis or whatever his excuse would be, and came to take them home, which would be any day now, since he had already been gone for six months.

Taking in a deep breath in and out, feeling her middle (not her shoulders and only barely her chest) expand all around, she nodded that she was ready.

"Great, let's start with a C major scale- ascending. Take it with an 'ah'." Mr. Holland instructed. Kim-Ly gave Lovina the starting pitch. Lovina hummed the note briefly to be certain she had it, and sang "ah" while Kim-Ly played up the scale, making sure it was her moth shape was tall, as though a doctor was checking her tonsils.

On and on, up and up they climbed until Mr. Holland noticed her voice beginning to crack. "Hmm, a B flat above the staff, not bad. Now let's go down.' Kim-Ly played the middle C again, and this time played the scales descending. Thankfully it didn't take as long. "G sharp. A nice range for a mezzo soprano*. Good job Lovina, we're glad to have you." He patted her back, and she looked to the side, a little guilty.

"Ah, about that, Feli and I are only staying with the Beilschmidts until Nonno comes home- any day now, a few weeks tops." Lovina wondered if it sounded like she was bluffing to them.

Oh well, it was the truth. Because Lovina couldn't stand the thought of this becoming her life. She belonged at home, with her garden and sister and Nonno, at White Valley with Alfred, Matthew, Feliks, Toris, Carlos, and everyone else. She shouldn't be in Ger-san's big house with Gilbert and Ludwig, or at school with these people in this stupid uniform.

Mr. Holland just nodded his head as though he could tell what she was thinking. "Okay, we'll have to make good use of you while we can. Tell Leon he's up, would you?" He made a note on his clipboard and Lovina exited, feeling like a weight had just lifted off of his shoulders.

Outside, Felicia was chatting with Ludwig, and Antonio was turned most of the way around in his seat to look at her.

"How did it go mi tesoro?"

"Fine. Leon, Mr. Holland wants you." Antonio didn't seem affected by her curt tone. Leon just nodded and went in. Lovina sat down in her seat again and leaned up to poke Natalia with her pencil. Katyusha raised her eyebrows along with most people who knew Natalia when she didn't hiss and stab Lovina (the Ukrainian girl tucked her phone underneath her desk and frantically texted Ivan about this new development). Instead of stabbing, Natalia just swatted the offending pencil away. "What?"

"What kind of music do we usually sing in here?"

"Mostly Latin Church songs, some spirituals, just basic stuff really, except recently Holland's been working in a few show numbers." The Belarusian girl was distracted by her sister declaring in tears how happy she was that Natasha had made a friend.

Leon ended up being a tenor, and Mei was an alto. Mr. Holland and Kim-Ly joined them in the main room and without needing another signal everyone who wasn't new to the school got up from the desks, went to the back of the room where Lovina hadn't noticed the stacks of chairs, grabbed one and made three rows of seats. Kiku and Yao (who of course, was already back from his dentist appointment) helped Mei and Leon get set up. Lovina noticed Ludwig politely carrying a chair for Felicia. "You're a soprano, right? They sit here, next to the basses."

Antonio suddenly appeared at her elbow. "Holland* said you were a mezzo-soprano, ¿sí?" she nodded. It didn't count as needed his help to figure out where to sit if he came and did it on her own, right?

"¡Bueno! Does your range lean up or down?" He used big goofy arm motions to demonstrate what he meant. A lesser girl would have laughed at him, but Lovina didn't even allow her lips to quirk.

"Up, I blow at the low notes."

"¡Sí! Then Holland probably wants you with the Sopranos!" They walked to the back and Lovina snatched her chair. She didn't need Antonio Fernandez Carriedo to carry things for her, like her sister had conned Ludwig Beilschmidt to do. She plunked her chair next to Feli's and Eva gently sat on the other side of the moody Italian girl. Mr. Holland had the same vocal warm-ups as White Valley, and he was just raising his baton to begin the simple arrangement of Shenandoah they were singing mainly as another warm up when the phone rang. He head jerked to the side and then threw the conductor's baton at Berwald who managed to catch it. The teacher ran into his office and shut the door, which Berwald took to mean that he required absolute quiet.

The large Swedish boy walked to the metal box that the conductors stood on. On the outside, Berwald appeared to be glaring menacingly, making the entire ensemble cringe. On the inside, Berwald was terrified. This was his first time doing student conductor things in front of people! Suppose they were rambunctious and he couldn't control them? What if he looked stupid and incompetent in front of Tino, and Mathias laughed at him?

"What was that about, it was like he got the call that his wife was in labor." Tyr muttered, being the first one brave enough to speak quietly under Berwald's gaze. Mathias chuckled.

"No, Holland isn't married, and he's always said that we were the only children he needed."

"So what was it?" Natalia asked, prompting Katyusha to pat her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Natasha, it's probably nothing. We'll tell you if it pans out."

"Ha! So you seniors do know something!" Lovina said, pointing accusingly at the bad friends' trio.

Antonio was about to answer back when Berwald cut over him, mumbling "Quiet! Holland's taking the phone call!"

Then Berwald had to fight a blush when everyone immediately quieted down and Tino gave him sly thumbs up. The choir sat in awkward silence until Mr. Holland flung open the door to his office. "I have great news everybody!"


	6. yay! intrusive subplots!

Everyone jumped, and Berwald almost snapped the delicate baton in his hand. "You mean…?" there was an unholy gleam of excitement in the seniors' (but particularly the Bad Friends') eyes. Mr. Holland seemed to share their excitement.

"We're taking this shit international! All of the administrators finally agreed! We're going to Costa Rica!" It was chaos for a few minutes while the students wondered (loudly, did they wonder!) what he was talking about and the seniors were congratulating each other as though they had just won a very large bet. Then Mr. Holland walked to the front board, grabbed an eraser and chucked it at Matthias who was being particularly loud. Clapping his hands several times loudly, Mr. Holland said in a commanding voice "Band! Atten-tion!" Most of the people in the room immediately stood straight with shoulders up, back, and down again, feet shoulder-width apart and arms in a position that suggested they were holding imaginary instruments. "Pride!" They yelled, and then paused for a second as though awaiting orders before releasing slightly, looking around and laughing with everyone else. Lovina figured that the people who followed the orders were in the marching band, showing just how deeply ingrained their training was. She hoped that she wouldn't end up like that, even though she kind of already knew that she would.

"I love doing that" Mr. Holland chuckled to himself. "Sit down so I can explain before we get noise complaints again." They obeyed, and Lovina piped up, hating not being in on what seemed like common knowledge.

"So what the hell were you even talking about?" …shit, she swore in front of a teacher. Thankfully he let it pass, though he did give her a warning look.

"Apollo, the famous movie star and singer, is having a 'youth festival' with bands and choirs from all over the world. He literally chose the most random ones he could find by pulling names out of a hat. Apollo's doing this to raise money and or awareness for world peace."

Natalia raised her one of her eyebrows. "He's throwing money around for _world peace_?"

"So it would seem. He's going to make a video with snatches of each group (the choirs at least) and put it on the internet."

"But aren't we too small a group?" Kiku asked nervously. Suppose they wouldn't be allowed to go, or that the groups from other nations laughed at them since they were so small?

"That's why I've contacted White Valley and St. Wisteria's music departments. They both just agreed to send a few people over to help, so we meet the number requirements. The seniors who agreed to go will be coming after school to go over a few of the finer details."

"How many people are coming?" Tino asked, thinking of how nervous Berwald was going to be around the new people.

"Two people from White Valley and four from Wisteria's, making six visitors today. We're going to be learning new music, including a choir song that every group will sing. It's in Latin, since no one speaks that language anyway. That's going to be the song in the video."

Gilbert chuckled. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we learned Latin then gossiped about other people in front of them? You know, like how Francis, Angelique and Lise do in French to make us all feel stupid?" A few people laughed and the bell rang then, and Lovina made her way to her next class, accompanied by her sister, Eva, Michelle, Vash, Antonio, and Ludwig. The class and the one after passed in a haze. It was a pleasant haze mostly (it was weird how school was exponentially less stressful when she didn't have to look behind her back to check if That Guy was following her) though if you asked her she couldn't have told you what those classes were. She sat in what was normally Yong Soo's seat and the other band/choir kids taught her and the other new kids the ropes. That made Lovina suspicious. They had to have had some kind of ulterior motive for being so nice to Lovina and her sister when practically the only thing they knew about each other was that they were in the music department together. She wasn't sure what their motive could have been, so during lunch after she subtly ditched their group when she just happened to be in line behind Antonio she asked about it. For the record, her heart absolutely did NOT skip a beat when he got a cute confused look on his face before smiling gently at her and laughing a little.

"Well, it's kind of like this; you see those guys sitting over there-" he gestured to a table where two guys sat, apparently as impressed with Lovina's uniform as Antonio had been, "-checking you out?" Lovina wrapped her arms around her middle and stepped closer to Antonio, giving him a cue to put his arm around her shoulders and lean in closely to 'whisper something intimate' in her ear. Antonio opened her backpack from behind, making her squawk in protest while he pulled out the music she had gotten in choir. The boys made faces of disgust and turned away.

"What, they got a problem with me?" Lovina asked, ready to beat on someone.

"No, Lovi, it's not you, it's the music. See, I heard about it when I was a freshman, but the year before I came here; there was a scandal that shook our school to the core. Ever since, the music department hasn't integrated will with the 'popular' people and everyone else follows their lead."

"What kind of scandal was it? Lovina asked, curious.

Antonio grimaced and shifted his weight. "Ha ha, well, we're not really supposed to talk about it." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"You don't know, do you?"

"No, it's-" Antonio was cut off by Mr. Holland appearing out of nowhere. "Didn't we agree to never speak of that again?"

"_Lo siento, pero_ Lovi wanted to know about the music cult."

"Cult?" This school was turning out to be more interesting than she had expected it to be.

"That's just what they call it. I tell all my students that band and choir are family, and they kind of ran with it." Mr. Holland explained. A fallacy with Antonio's story occurred to Lovina and she ducked under his arm to look him in the eyes.

"Wait, everyone at the music festival was cheering for you guys. You three are in band and choir." She glared at him accusingly.

"We happen to be the exception that proves the rule, _Cheri_" Francis purred from behind, making Lovina jump. She hated being surprised from behind like that. Gilbert was also there making the Bad Friends Trio complete.

"Kesesese, everyone appreciates talent! The ladies just can't get enough of us!" Mr. Holland just rolled his eyes and wandered over to a table where most of the music kids Lovina had met earlier were sitting. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that everyone was sitting together.

"See _mi tesora_, even if we have the world against us, the music department sticks together. You don't always like your family, but you always love them."

She sat at the end of the table next to Natalia and Felicia, the Bad Friends sat on the opposite side of the table, and Mr. Holland pulled a chair over to sit at the head of the table.

"Why are you sitting here?" Leon asked curiously.

"I've got lunch duty, making sure that food fights and stuff doesn't break out. I'm more efficient eating with the students, since they don't notice me." Lovina supposed it made sense if she thought about it in a certain way, but was this guy _really_ a teacher? The music kids treated him like he was just another music nerd, and he acted like he was.

Mr. Holland was grinning jovially and seemed for the entire world like a kid desperately wanting to tell a secret. "Has anyone told yet?"

A tall boy with Natalia's eyes and Katyusha's hair who was sitting in between them leaned forward. "Tell us about what? The choir kids have been whispering about something, but they won't say anything. Is this about you being holed up in your office all the time, calling White Valley and Wisteria's?" Eva shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She hated keeping things from Vash. She owed him everything…after he had found her that evening years ago in the rain…She didn't want to think about where she'd be it wasn't for Vash Zwingli convincing his parents to take her in…A small shiver made its way down her back, though she was reassured when Vash quietly took her hand under the table. No one else seemed to get it, but Vash was the kindest person Eva knew. He just got embarrassed easily, so he flustered a lot and usually came off as being angry.

While Eva had been soliloquizing about her brother's tsundere-ness, Mr. Holland had explained the situation, causing the band kids lots of excitement.

"Okay, settle down!" Mr. Holland said loudly. Reluctantly the group lowered their voices.

"Do you think this'll change things? They won't be able to call us stupid little leaguers anymore, right?" Femke asked excitedly.

"I don't know. The sports teams will be jealous. I don't know if they've ever been out of the region before." Ivan pointed out. The table began a debate about what the rest of the school would think. About half were hopeful that they would get enough 'street cred' and prestige that they might help the rift, though the slightly larger majority was pessimistic. Lovina stayed out of it, though Felicia jumped in and tried to support Ludwig's argument even though Lovina's younger sister had no idea what she was talking about.

And so lunch, and eventually the rest of the day passed. The classes weren't really anything to write home about, though it was funny in art because Ludwig couldn't draw to save his life. Lovina stopped smirking when Felicia gently put her hand over his and showed him the proper way to draw the model rabbit. Ludwig had some nerve, blushing like that! What did he think this was?

Band was also fine; the four new students were sorted by what instrument they played. Lovina was surprised to learn that at World Series they didn't have 'chairs' with the first chair being the best at a particular instrument and working their way down from that. At White Valley (and as far as she knew, St. Wisteria's) they had used 'chairs'. This place was weird, she concluded. Once again Mr. Holland explained about the trip, and how they would play the concert, but also that the week and a half before that they would tour Costa Rica and even go to the beach once. It sounded perfect to Lovina so she wondered, of course, what the catch would be. It turned out that they would have to pay for the week and a half, share the tour with another school (who wouldn't be there for the concert), and complete all assignments before they left. That put a damper on most people's spirits.

While Lovina was still in that same frame of mind the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.

"Remember, I want everyone back here at 3:25 to get ready for practice!" Mr. Holland warned, while students started standing up and leaving.

"Ve~ Ludwig, what's going on?" Felicia asked voicing the question that Lovina had wanted to ask. He gently pried her arm off of his and put his backpack on.

"We have band practice Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3:30 to five." He explained about how today the choir would be encouraged to stay (though it wasn't part of their grade like it was for band), and how supposedly people from White Valley and Wisteria's were supposed to be coming for something or another.

"Did you need to get anything before practice? Let's go to your locker, _Querida_!" Antonio tried to get her attention. What was he, a neurotic puppy? Lovina was about to answer back and tell him what she thought of people who assumed she was incapable of going to her locker alone (This wasn't White Valley, for crying out loud! She was supposed to be safe here) when the seniors from White Valley and St. Wisteria's arrived, coming in the door that lead to the parking lot. Of course Felicia and Lovina recognized Carlos and Roderich from White Valley. Carlos called out to the two of them.

"Yo, Felicia! Lovina! What the hell happened? You didn't show up in band yesterday, and today Matthew and that jerk Alfred were going on about you being missing, and this morning those two and Felicks and Toris were going on about-" Lovina cut him off in a hurry.

"Our neighbor reported Nonno for 'child abandonment' and he willed us to his old business partner Garen Beilschmidt, grandfather of Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt. Then _he_ transferred us to World Series so it would be more convenient for him." A bitter twist of her lips and Carlos had been sold. Lovina would have cemented the deal and casually mentioned Antonio, but she and Felicia were dragged away along with a senior girl from St. Wisteria's who had long wavy brown hair with pink flower barrettes.

"C'mon, we finally got Vash to take Eva away for five minutes so we can plan her surprise party! This is her first birthday with a real family, so we've got to make it good!" giggled Angelique, leading them to the instrument storage room where they could still receive Vash's signal text that he had an estimated thirty second ETA with Eva, but they would be out of sight so no one could see them plotting. The remaining seniors gathered around the baby-grand piano that Mr. Holland was sitting at. A boy from St. Wisteria's with messy blonde hair, green eyes, and huge eyebrows spoke first.

"You're Mr. Holland, right? Our-" he briefly gestured to the other St. Wisteria's students, "-music director wanted us to relay this message to you. I quote, 'you couldn't pay me enough money to take three music departments overseas, so I'll leave it to you and whoever they send from White Valley."

Mr. Holland had expected this from his counterpart at St. Wisteria's. He had always been in it for the money and prestige, never really putting in the extra time or effort into his students.

"I see. Well, I'm just glad he's sending students over."

One of the students from White Valley spoke next. It was Roderich, as always as refined as possible with his hair slicked back and his clothes freshly pressed. "This is slightly awkward, but our band director also wanted you to know that she wouldn't be coming on the trip. Her due date is on the week before, so she expects to be on maternity leave then." Mr. Holland blinked in surprise. This he hadn't been expecting.

"I see. It looks like I'll be flying solo on this one." His words sounded like they should have been regretful, but his tone and face showed that he was actually quite pleased. "If you'll excuse me, though, I have to talk with a student." Standing up, he gave Antonio who was coming over with Gilbert and Francis 'The Look' and pulled him into his office, closing the door behind them.

Francis sauntered over to the piano and stood just inside Arthur's personal bubble but kept his hands to himself so that Arthur couldn't complain. He smiled and whistled lowly in Arthur's ear. "I wonder what Antonio did… Jethrow pulled him in for 'Q.T.' after all."

"What's 'Q.T.', frog? Not that I care or anything, it's probably something stupid you came up with," Arthur demanded. Gilbert cackled and answered before Francis could.

"Kesesese, Q.T. means 'Quality Time'. It's whenever your grades slip, or you get into extra trouble or something and Jethrow pulls you into his office and yells at you until you cry, basically."

"You call your music director by his first name?" Roderich exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's after three, so school's over, Roddy. This is World Series. We're not prissy or stuck up like the rest of you."

"Why, I never!" Arthur was shocked. He would never presume to call a _teacher_ by name!

"Oh, I bet you have!" Francis sneered back. As expected, Arthur and Francis pulled away and began their own little argument. Sadiq Adan, another senior from Wisteria's thought that Elizabeta would have loved to record the (as she would say) delicious UST. Patrick Kirkland, the last senior from Wisteria's snorted through his closed mouth. He was Arthur's older brother and this whole 'fighting like a married couple' with Francis had gotten old a decade ago.

In Mr. Holland's office, Antonio was sweating. "What's wrong, Jethrow? My grades are good and we haven't gotten into trouble today!"

"No, you're not in trouble. I just want you to tell me the real story behind Lovina Vargas." Antonio flinched and looked away. Mr. Holland had always been shrewd, and it wasn't like he could _lie_ to Mr. Holland. But he couldn't just spill Lovi's secret without her permission…though on the other hand, if Mr. Holland knew all the circumstances he could help and That Guy wouldn't be able to sneak onto the trip. Mr. Holland could see that Antonio was debating something with himself. For all the mayhem the Bad Friends caused around the school, those three were probably the most into their 'band cult'. Antonio slumped, defeated.

"Okay, okay. I give in. At the music festival Sunday I was waiting back stage, tuning my guitar when Lovi sang. I thought it was amazing, and that she was really cute, so I was trying to ask her out on a date when her sister Feli came running up to warn her about something. The thing was, Feli couldn't stop rambling when she was that nervous. Lovina was trying to get her to spit it out-" Antonio's face which until this point had been especially cheerful and bright twisted into a grimace and seemed to grow darker. "-when That Guy showed up. _Querida_ and her sister seem to be terrified of him. He was her boyfriend, but she broke it off with him. He's started stalking Lovi apparently, so she pretended that I was her boyfriend and I went along with it. Gilbert and Francis came over and backed us up. I thought that would be the end of it, but Monday after school and practice, Gilbie, Franny, and I went to the mall and I saw him (I still don't know his name, I think it'd be better not to ask Lovi right now) following Lovi and she hadn't noticed, so I pretended again. Then yesterday Lovi and Feli's neighbor reported their _Abuelo_ for child abandonment and Gilbert's _Abuelo_ agreed to take care of them and when he heard about all of this he transferred them here, but Lovi said this morning that she still wanted to pretend to be going out because That Guy would eventually find out where she was."

Okay… Mr. Holland hadn't been expecting that at all…"So how do you feel about this?"

"Mm, I'm fine with it~" His grin had returned and now grew larger. "I just hope we can drop the 'pretend' bit soon!" Mr. Holland let him go then, and promised that he wouldn't let That Guy sneak on the trip. In the main room, the girls had rejoined them, and were acting as though nothing had really happened. Gilbert was hanging around Ludwig and Felicia, with that glint in his eyes that told Antonio he was cock blocking his little brother (though he really doubted that Ludwig would even try anything at this stage). Francis and Arthur were still fighting, with both of them trying to assert that they had spent the most time with Alfred and Matthew since the last time they had met. Their voices were loud and Antonio overheard that Arthur's house was being considered for Alfred's screening party.

He ignored them both and found Lovina. "¡_Hola Querida_! Did you have any homework today?" she shrugged, watching Francis and Arthur fight idly. "I already got it done."

"Oh, okay…" Antonio tried to think of a topic before remembering something he had wanted to show her. "Oh yeah! I wanted to show you the Bad Friends Boy Band website!" He took a laptop out of Francis' bag and pulled it up. It seemed to be very well done, which Antonio admitted was Eduard's doing since Gilbert had hired him to design and make the website. There was a map of the city with a blinking red dot that signified that they were located in the center (this was a lie; they were actually on the west side of town, but they had the Fran-van so they could go anywhere) and it was also safer to not have all of the data on-line to be exactly accurate. Antonio pulled up the new messages left for them, which were mostly comments from people who had hired them, showing Lovi that they always left customers and patrons happy and wanting more. Then Antonio's hand shook and he yelled for Gilbert and Francis.

"You've got to see this!" Lovina was confused and skipped over to where the mouse had highlighted something. To her surprise, a restaurant a few streets from her home (not Ger-san's big house, but the small one she had grown up with Felicia and Nonno) had offered them a steady gig playing Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends. The three boys grabbed the laptop and went into an unused practice room to talk it over. It seemed like the dream gig; five minutes away from Ger-san's house, great pay, decent hours, free drinks (non-alcoholic, of course) and half-off food. The only fly in the ointment, so to speak, was discovered by Gilbert, tucked into the end of the message out of sight, as though the restaurant owner was hoping they wouldn't notice until they had already agreed. "They want us to do covers?" His voice was flat and furious. The three of them had sworn when they started the Bad Friends Boy Band that they would never cover other people's work and never sell out.

"But look at what they'll pay us! It's not a lump sum, that's each!" It truly would have been the highest paycheck ever! Francis thought that Gilbert would be a fool to turn this down! Then again, Francis mused, Antonio and Gilbert had both always been fools.

"We swore never to sell out! What about artistic integrity?"

Antonio tried to reason. "It wouldn't really be selling out. How about we compromise? The owner's never heard us play before or heard any of our songs. Once he gets to know us and hear our songs, we can start mixing them into the set. Before you know it, we'll be playing our own original stuff!" Ah Antonio, ever the optimist. It took a bit more convincing but eventually Gilbert agreed, though with the following ultimatum:

"If we're not playing any original songs by the end of the second month, I'm walking!"

Gilbert was still in a mood when they left the practice room so Antonio and Francis pulled him to the desks. "We were going to save these for a prank later, but now is as good a time as any." Grinning mischievously they pulled out Nerf guns. "Wanna snipe Roderich while he's at the piano?" Gilbert's face lit up, eager at the idea. Lovina who was sitting at a desk working on her art sketch decided that she really didn't care to know why Gilbert seemed to hate Roderich so much. She never really cared much for him herself, but Gilbert seemed to have some real grudge against him. Luckily for Roderich, Mr. Holland came then and just _looked_ at them. He didn't say anything, but they felt his presence and they talked as though in the middle of a conversation.

"-And we should get Luddy from behind and make sure Opa is out first- oh _hey_ Jethrow!" Gilbert said as though he had just noticed the teacher was there.

"Yeah right, just put those away and sit down." They followed his instructions exactly (_nerds_, Lovina thought) and Mr. Holland went to his board. "Everyone sit down!" he pointed to the desks and the others followed suit. Once everyone was sitting down Mr. Holland gave Lise, who was sitting on the top corner of a nearby desk, a stack of forms and indicated that she should take one and pass the rest.

"These are permission forms for your parents informing them of the trip. All of the choirs will have the same piece that they will sing, though the band piece will either be the Mission Impossible Theme, or a medley I found from the Phantom of the Opera. The visiting seniors brought lists of students from their school who agreed to go. The good news is that we just make the number requirements. The bad news is that all of us or none of us are going. I've made arrangements for a lady to come and talk to us about fundraising. Tomorrow everyone who signed up will be coming so we can have a 'meet and greet' and have the fund raising talk again." He grimaced along with most of the upperclassmen. It seemed that the fundraising lady was not a very popular person. He talked for a little longer before saying

"That's all for today. Obviously we're going to have a job ahead of us." Lovina stood, trying not to catch the excitement from the others. It was too risky to get emotional about this. There were just too many ifs and variables for her to even consider that it could go well…and the others would be annoying when the plan fell through and they had gotten their hopes up. She grabbed her bag and followed her sister, Ludwig and the Bad Friends to the parking lot. Gilbert pulled out his cell phone and called Garen.

"Yo!" He quickly held the phone away from his ear while Garen treated him to an angry tirade in German. After a while he either stopped or took a breath, something that Gilbert took advantage of.

"Chill, _Opa_, we've got the girls with us-" he paused for a moment. "They were signed up for choir and band, we were just at practice-" Another pause.

Gilbert seemed to be getting impatient "Look, _Opa_, they're _fine_; we have news when we get home! –Oh, you do too? That's cool." He paused, listening again, though this time he didn't seem to mind. "Yeah, we'll pick up some take out." They piled into the Fran Van (once again Francis drove while Antonio sat next to Lovina and Gilbert claimed shot gun again) and were off.

"Why did _Grand-père_ want us to get take out?" Francis asked. Garen was known for his fondness for home cooked dinners and his distaste for fast-food.

"Who knows; he's probably trying to soften us up for something. Last time he told us to get take out Ludwig's cat got run over," Gilbert said. He shrugged and leaned back, closing his eyes. Despite his lax tone Gilbert was worried a little bit. Something in Garen's tone had sounded off, and he seemed a little too relieved that the girls were safe with them. But posturing was what he was best at, and he milked that talent for all it was worth, making sure that the easily impressionable Ludwig and the cute younger twin sisters didn't suspect anything. By the time they pulled into Garen's driveway The Awesome was tired. To the suspicion of the boys, Garen was waiting for them just inside the door. Lovina felt a thrill of dread race down her spine.

"He's dead, isn't he?" **(A/N: wouldn't it be evil of me to leave this as another cliffhanger?)**

Ger-san blinked, confused for a moment. "Who? Your grandfather? No, not at all. What would give you that idea?" He just received a disbelieving look as response. "According to my sources, as of ten o'clock this morning he was drunk in a casino in Monaco. Just what is going through his head is anyone's guess. Before I forget though, that Alfred Jones boy here earlier. He wanted to use _my_ TV for his little screening party." A roll of Garen's stern blue eyes showed what he thought of that. Gilbert and Francis didn't seem to notice or care.

"Great! Did he set a concrete date yet?" Gilbert asked.

"I can just call Alfred, _oui_? He was probably so excited that he forgot to mention it," Francis said, pulling out his phone.

"I never gave him the chance. I sent Alfred and his brother away for being rude."

"Nonsense! My _Mathieu_ doesn't have a rude bone in his body!" Francis interjected. Gilbert and Garen both loudly added their opinions.

"Come on, let's go ahead and eat," Ludwig murmured, awkwardly taking Felicia's arm. A light bulb appeared above Antonio's head.

"_¡Sí!_" He took the girls by the hand and led them out the door again with Ludwig following after uncertainly.

"What the fuck do you think you're _doing_ let me go!" To her surprise Antonio let go of her arm immediately, allowing her to scramble back nervously.

"_Lo siento, Querida_, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just thinking that we should go out to eat-" There was a loud interjection in French from inside the house. "It would be quieter, ¿_sí_?" He looked sheepish and concerned, making Lovina blush. There she went again, over-reacting and causing problems for more people. She really _couldn't_ do anything right, could she? But it wasn't her fault! It was Antonio's, for grabbing her out of nowhere and dragging her around like she was some kind of toy-

_Cold hands grabbed her out of nowhere and a cold, furious slurred voice that stank terribly of beer growled in her ear. "No one's around, not even Felicia. You're such a __**fucking tease**__." The hands kept her pinned and she couldn't move or fight back. Something hard was painfully pressed against her backside and no matter how she screamed and cried, begged and cursed, That Guy refused to let go. One hand shoved her onto the couch, the other ripping her blouse down the middle. Terror and adrenaline gave Lovina a momentary burst of strength and courage, and she managed to knee him in the family jewels. Grabbing the torn edges of her shirt she ran to her room leaving That Guy unconscious on her couch. She locked the door and cried. Once she was able she changed shirts, cleaned up and called Alfred. She told him that That Guy had shown up at her house drunk and passed out on her couch. He agreed immediately to help her get him home. But she never could explain away the bruise on the back of her neck._

-"I am a person, dammit! Not a toy!" God, she hoped he didn't notice the goose bumps on her arms or the water welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"_Lo siento_, I wasn't thinking," Antonio's brain was working on overdrive, trying to figure out why cute Lovi had reacted that way. She scowled and looked away, seeming embarrassed and completely adorable to him.

"Whatever. I just don't like being grabbed suddenly." She politely looked at Ludwig who was helping Felicia into the Fran-van while she rubbed at her eyes, muttering about the nonexistent wind.

"What do you say we go to the restaurant that we got the gig at? That way we can scope it out~!" Stupid Antonio with his stupid smile, pretending like she wasn't the biggest freak he had ever seen, who did he think he was fooling…

"I don't care, as long as I don't have to pay." …Wait, now she was going to mooch off of him after spazzing out on him…"I mean, just give me a minute to grab my wallet!"

To her surprise, Antonio pouted a little. "C'mon! Let me pay! Then it would be like a real date~! Although since Ludwig and Felicia are here too, it'd be like a double date!"

Of course Lovina had been forgetting that she was talking to the biggest freak _she_ had ever met. After That Guy, of course, though really Lovina was talking about completely different kinds of freaks.

"…Okay, but if you imply that Felicia's with _him_ or that we're double dating again…" she trailed off, unable to think up of a suitable threat. Antonio beamed, overjoyed that she accepted, and also at the pathetic attempt at threatening. _Cute, cute, cute~_ he thought, and ushered her into the van just as Ludwig loudly wondered when they would get in. Felicia just giggled and said that Lovi needed all of the flirting practice she could get.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Lovina demanded. "I was NOT flirting with him!"

"Ha ha, sorry; we were just saying wouldn't it be fun to check out the place where the Bad Friends Boy Band will be playing?" Antonio cut in, gently putting his hand over Lovina's. He didn't even flinch when she hastily jerked it away from him.

"Just shut up and drive!" she demanded. Antonio complied and sure enough, soon they were at the restaurant. They were led to a booth by the platform where a middle aged man with a black beanie and an acoustic guitar sat playing blues songs. Lovina was a little irked when Felicia dragged Ludwig into the seat with her, leaving Lovina to sit next to Antonio. Her sister could have been at least a little more subtle about it…

Antonio's eyes got big and shiny, Lovina noticed, when he sat next to her. It somehow made him seem (to Lovina at least) even more like a child than usual while his eyes stayed glued on the guy's hands while he played, trying to figure out what he was playing. Often during the meal Lovina would catch him tapping his foot in time or the fingers on his left hand twitch, as though he was mentally playing along, trying to commit the song into memory.

And for the record, Lovina absolutely did not find it the slightest bit cute, or hot, or anything weird like that. She just…respected him as a fellow musician. That was it. Yeah.

But at the moment, a server came and handed them menus, asking what they wanted to drink. After they hastily made their orders, Antonio turned to smile at Lovi.

"Isn't this place cool? The food's supposed to be good, too, so we can bring some home after work, or you guys could tag along and eat while we play!" He bounced slightly, enjoying that Lovina and Felicia seemed to relax since they were closer to their _Abuelo_'s house.

"Ve~ yeah! _Sorella_ and I come here all the time, with Alfred and….And…."

"Matthew," Lovina supplied, indifferently looking around the restaurant. Here was about the time when it would become the Felicia show, and Antonio and Ludwig would both spend the entire evening paying attention to her.

Suddenly she stiffened and yelped a curse, slumping in her seat.

"Ve~ what's wrong, Lovi?" Felicia asked.

"Joe Everyman is at the booth by the cash register." To Antonio and Ludwig, who were confused, she explained that Joe was one of That Guy's friends. "After I dumped him… he turned more unpleasant than usual." Lovina considered suggesting that they abandon this restaurant for some fast food joint somewhere, but they would attract too much attention calling a waiter over to ask for the bill now. That and she didn't want Antonio to think that she was running away again. It made no sense, but somehow Lovina felt like she didn't want him to be disappointed in her. Though that didn't stop her from sinking as low in the booth as she could.

"Did he do something to you, _Querida_?" Antonio asked. He couldn't understand why she was scared but he wanted to be able to make her feel better, to stop all of her fears in their tracks.

"Not really," Lovina paused for a moment or two, considering how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"I've explained to Joe a hundred times but he doesn't get why I dumped That Guy. They just don't understand anyone if they don't speak creepy possessive creeper/jerk-idiot." Lovina was very determined not to look at Joe again, in case he noticed her and caused trouble. Antonio, curious to see what this friend-of-cute-Lovi's-ex looked like, angled his head to see around Ludwig. In the booth right by the register sat a guy about Antonio's age. He wore dark, grungy looking clothing. He was big, but Antonio had been in fights with bigger fighters than this guy and come out on top. Joe was glaring at their booth, his lip curled in disgust.

In response Antonio draped his arm on the back of his and Lovina's booth and smirked at Joe, letting his eyes narrow dangerously. This Joe fellow would be in for a surprise if he ruined Antonio's first night out with Lovi! Joe's grimace grew more pronounced. Lovina happened to look up just as he made a rude gesture at them. Felicia saw her sister flinch and tried to think of something to say.

"Ve~ _Sorella,_ don't you think Ger-san could use some tomato plants in his garden? The only things I saw were flowers and stuff."

Ludwig joined in, hasty to end the tense atmosphere; he knew that it was dangerous when Antonio got that Look in his eyes. "What kinds of things did you two grow in your garden?"

"Flowers and stuff by the fence, of course, but tomatoes and spices, and the stuff we cook with, peppers, squash, all that stuff." Lovina said, distracted.

"Ve~ it's been years since we had to buy fruits or vegetables!"

Antonio finally joined the conversation "_Mi padres y Yo_ have a house outside of the city. We grow all kinds of things~! I hope I can show you guys some time!" Antonio cooed, seemingly out of his mood. Ludwig sighed gratefully. He almost jumped a foot when Felicia gently took his hand under the table. She didn't give any outward sign that would alert her sister what she was doing, but when Ludwig tentatively squeezed her hand, her smile grew slightly larger and she twined her fingers through his sweaty ones. It was weird; most people were intimidated by him because of his cold blue eyes, large build, and seemingly permanent stern expression. But flighty, carefree, cheerful Felicia had never seemed frightened by him. Something about her just _fit_ somehow, seemed so familiar, but when he asked Gilbert earlier he had said that they had never met the Vargas sisters before. For the first time in a while, Ludwig thought hard, trying desperately to remember before the age of twelve.

A few days after his twelfth birthday Ludwig had followed his brother and his two friends when they had snuck out to play. However, the fifteen year olds didn't want Gilbert's little brother tagging along, being dead weight. That much Ludwig remembered, but the rest Ludwig always needed his big brother to tell him. Apparently, eventually Francis in particular had gotten annoyed at Ludwig cock blocking him in front of a group of pretty boys, so he had pointed out an ice cream truck and given Ludwig three dollars. Then he told Antonio and Gilbert that Ludwig had gotten tired and went home.

The three of them had gone to Arthur Kirkland's house to tease him, unaware of the truck that had come out of nowhere and had hit Ludwig.

The driver had immediately taken the boy to the hospital, where he didn't regain consciousness until the next day without any memories of anything that had happened before. The day after that the doctors were able to contact Garen, and he and the Bad Friends immediately broke several traffic laws, getting there in five minutes (it was a forty-five minute drive, normally). Over the course of the next few months they had re-acclimatized Ludwig, though he never regained more than a handful of memories. Gilbert had never forgiven Francis. Ludwig supposed it was within reason that he could have met Felicia before now, though Gilbert seemingly knew everything about Ludwig's life and he didn't recognize the Vargas'. And hadn't they mentioned they had only moved to America at the age of ten? If he had met someone like her he definitely would have mentioned her to his big brother at one point or another.

Ludwig would have to figure out the mystery of Felicia Vargas and maybe find some manuals on the subject.

Antonio felt Lovina shyly move closer, centimeter by centimeter to him during the conversation. Antonio was happy until he figured out that she was still scared of Joe and shying closer, making his heart twist. He could tell that it wasn't in her character. He kept up the conversation, daring to gently rub a circle into her shoulder. She jerked away with a little glare and scooted away, making Antonio pout a little. After they got their drinks and placed their orders, the Spaniard gently removed his arm from the back of the seat.

Smiling cheerily he said "_Tengo que ir al baño_." Upon seeing the confused looks directed at him, he translated "I need to go to the bathroom! I'll be right back, Lovi!" He kissed her on the cheek (oh, how he **loved** that shade of red) and left them.

Joe gave him the evil eye as he passed, and Antonio met his gaze, not backing down. In the bathroom, Antonio smirked while washing his hands when he heard the door open. He remembered Lovi saying that That Guy and his friends didn't understand anyone who didn't speak creepy possessive creeper/jerk-idiot…and, well, Antonio unfortunately spoke that language to an extent. He had taken the bait, now Antonio just had to let Joe make the first move and everything would be chalked up to self-defense. It was basic animal psychology (though he didn't like being compared to an animal).

"What kind of shit do you think you're pulling? That bitch already has a boyfriend," Joe shoved Antonio, a little surprised when Antonio barely budged because he had planted his feet beforehand. Livid green eyes met his, and Joe found himself pinned to the wall, his arm twisted painfully across his back holding him in place.

"'That bitch' is _mi_ princesa, Lovi." He put his other hand on Joe's throat and squeezed lightly (just to give him the idea of the position he was in). "You know, I'm starting to get _really_ annoyed with all of this stalker bullshit. So you tell _su amigo_ that if I hear of him touching, or even contacting _my_ Lovina again, I'll _burn_ him~ ¿_sí_?" Antonio said in a pleasant, cheerful tone with a bright smile on his face. Judging by the look in Joe's eyes, he wouldn't try anything.

"Oh~! One other thing! I'm _trying_ to enjoy a nice double date, so get out. You're ruining the atmosphere." Antonio briefly considered ordering Joe to not mention this to Lovina, but decided against it. There was no reason to show a weakness to Joe (or more specifically, That Guy), so it would be better to not even bring it up. With another cheery smile and one more squeeze to his throat (though of course he made sure not to leave a bruise that could be used as evidence) Antonio released Joe. To his mild surprise, Joe didn't try to assault him back and just left muttering bitterly about Antonio being a psychopath.

Once the door swung shut behind Joe, Antonio broke out into a cold sweat. It had been years since he threatened anybody! What it Lovi found out and then she hated him forever and didn't want to pretend to go out anymore? Gilbert was technically her brother now, what if she got really angry or worse, became scared of him, and Gilbert didn't let him in the house or talk with her anymore?

No, it didn't do any good to think like that! Antonio had to get control of himself before he went back to the group! The Spaniard splashed his face with tap water a few times and smiled experimentally to the mirror until he was satisfied that he wouldn't arouse suspicion, then went back to the booth. To his surprise, Lovina immediately turned to him.

"Are you okay? Just after you went past, Joe got up too, and I thought he was following you!" She looked him over for any injuries.

"Ha ha, I'm fine Lovi!" Antonio looked over at the booth Joe had been sitting at and found it empty.

"He hasn't come back…maybe we were too Lovi-dovey for him?" Antonio suggested, feeling his stomach clench. They accepted his excuse, and to his relief the dinner went smoothly from there. Once or twice he noticed cute Lovi glancing at his left hand or his feet, then blushing. Antonio was confused until he realized his hand was twitching, his fingers making the chords his ears heard and his foot was keeping time…it made Antonio ridiculously happy that his (fake) girlfriend was a music nerd, or at least she like music enough that she appreciated his own eccentricities.

They made it back in time for curfew, but as soon as the Fran-van pulled into the drive Gilbert and Garen stormed out.

"Where the _hell_ were you?" Gilbert started in. "We turn around for half a minute, and then the four of you are gone!" Ger-san put his hand on Gilbert's shoulder, silencing him since a few of the neighbors were peeking out of their windows curiously looking for the source of noise breaking up their peaceful evening.

"We will continue this inside." He led them in the door and started scolding Antonio for taking them away without telling anyone and Ludwig for not informing Ger-san or Gilbert where they were going.

"Ve~ we're sorry. We just thought that it would be fun to go out on a double date." With a sigh, Garen took the girls into his study, gently explaining that he had something troubling to tell them. Gilbert's face grew dark and he tugged Antonio and Ludwig into the garage where Francis sat on the couch waiting.

"_Bruder_? What did _Großvater_ want to tell the girls?"

"Luddy, you and Antonio take a seat." He pointed sternly at the couch, and Ludwig immediately obeyed, Antonio followed, though he quirked an eyebrow at Gilbert first.

"_Opa_ is telling the twins… That Guy was at the CPS, making a nuisance of himself. Normally that wouldn't be such a big deal, but when Opa got home he found a letter shoved into the mailbox."

His face twisted into an expression the other boys hadn't seen since Ludwig's first day of school after the accident, when Ludwig had come to them with red eyes and told them what little Johnny Parker had said about Ludwig (i.e. calling him the r-word). Little Johnny had needed two casts and ten stitches when Gilbert was finished with him. After that Ludwig had never cried again, and Antonio and Francis had always stepped in before Gilbert had a chance to do so himself.

"There wasn't an address on the envelope so Opa read it. It was stalker bullshit, mostly, but he mentioned what he would do to Lovina and Felicia if Lovina didn't get back with him." From the looks on the other boys' faces, it looked like it would be up to Francis to be the voice of reason here. Maybe if he got to That Guy first the others would feel like anything else would be overkill …? No way. Francis would just need to be prepared to call for an ambulance the moment any of them met him again.

To his surprise, Antonio's expression changed and he groaned, slumping back, covering his face with an arm.

"That reminds me. While we were at The Restaurant, Lovi saw Joe Everyman—I know, I thought it was stupid name, too—and he's apparently a friend of That Guy. He was scaring Lovi, and she mentioned that they didn't understand anyone if they didn't speak creepy possessive creeper/jerk-idiot… and as you know…"

"You can speak a dialect of that, go on." Francis supplied, wondering where Antonio was going with this. He hadn't… surely not in front of the cute Italian twins!

"So, I gave him the look and went into the bathroom. He took the bait and I told him to stay away from Lovi." At the questioning looks on the other's faces, Antonio replied to the unspoken question defensively.

"I didn't leave any bruises, and there weren't any cameras in the bathroom! And he shoved me first, so it was self-defense!" Gilbert chuckled, though Ludwig and Francis looked like they wanted to face palm.

"And now Joe will tell Lovi, then she'll be mad and scared of me, and then I'll never convince her to drop the fake!" Antonio cried before looking at the others suddenly in the eye. "Please! I promise I won't do anything like that again, so _please_ don't tell Lovi unless she asks!" They agreed, unused to seeing bright cheerful Antonio this distraught.

Gilbert flopped into the seat Ludwig had vacated in favor of sneaking a beer from the kitchen. "Dude, I wish I could have seen the look on his face when you pinned him to the wall!" He cackled but continued on. "But seriously, go sleep at Franny's place tonight. Lovina doesn't need more people here than necessary. No offense or anything."

"¡_Sí! Que tiene sentido_!" And so Francis and Antonio left in the Fran-van.

Gilbert sighed, suddenly feeling lonesome. No way! The Awesome wasn't as wimpy as that! He actually _loved_ being alone! It was loads of fun!... Geeze, Gilbert really needed to stop talking to himself.

~*X*~

Lovina could tell that she was worrying Ger-san and her sister with her lack of reaction. Her sister kept touching her arm and making those 've~' noises, and Ger-san watched her with those silent blue eyes and had given her a cup of tea. Once he let the two of them out of his study, Lovina peeled off Felicia and wandered to the kitchen with a vague idea to put the un-eaten take out in the fridge if it hadn't been done already. She didn't really see what they had been expecting.

Hadn't That Guy proven to her and Felicia how crazy he was? Hadn't Lovina warned Gilbert and Francis that morning that he would definitely come back eventually? Wasn't Lovina stupid for hoping that she could have had more than one day at her new school without being terrified that he would show up somehow?

Dimly she overheard Felicia tell Ludwig that Lovina was in shock. She supposed she was, because normally she would jump in and call them both stupid, but now she just drifted down the hallway. That was until in her peripheral vision Lovina saw what looked like a family picture of a younger Ger-san, Gilbert, Ludwig, and two people Lovina assumed were Gilbert and Ludwig's parents. That wasn't what stopped her though. It was the chibi-sized Ludwig wearing a black pirate hate smiling at the camera that sent rage and adrenaline through her veins like an electric current, in an instant chasing out whatever numbness Lovina had felt.

With a quick glance behind her to make sure the coast was clear before snatching the photo off the wall, Lovina formulated a plan in approximately half a second.

Making her way into the kitchen, Lovina could see that Ger-san was still in his study and Felicia and Ludwig were in the Lovina room talking quietly. She opened the fridge and slipped two beers into her uniform jacket pockets before padding noiselessly into the garage.

Gilbert was stretched out on the couch, iPod plugged in, quietly cursing under his breath and backing up the song every few seconds while he scribbled and marked on a piece of paper.

"Writing?" Lovina asked, poking his leg that hung over an arm rest. Gilbert jerked up with another swear when he noticed she was there.

"Oh. Hey, what's up?" Gilbert eyed her face, looking like he was debating asking if she was okay. Lovina rolled her eyes and shoved his legs out of the way so she could sit next to him on the couch.

"Well? What are you doing?" Lovina asked again.

"Eh, the new gig won't accept original songs, so I'm writing out stuff from my iPod." He showed her the may crosses and scribbles on the page. "Or at least I'm trying; this is more of Franny's thing."

The Italian girl passed him a beer. "So, my Nonno and I fight a lot, too. I guess it's because we're the older siblings. 'Why can't you smile more often like Feli?' 'Feli never gets into this much trouble.'" Gilbert snorted at the last one, signaling that he had heard that comment before.

"Yeah, 'why don't you start focusing on the future like Ludwig?' 'Aren't you ashamed that Ludwig makes better grades than you?'" he rolled his eyes. Then Gilbert wondered what Lovina's angle was. Out of the corner of his eyes, Gilbert saw a second bottle peeking out of her pocket. "Yours?" he gestured vaguely.

"Nah, I only like the wine and stuff Feli and I had on Sundays or that Nonno would have at fancy dinners." She passed the second to him. Now Gilbert was suspicious. Wasn't Lovina being _too_ nice?

Lovina was tired of small talk. "During the summer of '9X, did Ludwig go to the Small Oaks Day Camp?"

Gilbert did a spit-take, sputtering. "What the- how did _you_ know?"

Lovina's rage boiled. So it _was_ him. "Because that summer mom and dad sent us to Nonno's for the summer so they could save their marriage.

"Nonno was working a case so during the day he sent us to Small Oaks." She showed Gilbert the picture of his family, presumably camping since they were posing with a fish and Lovina could see a tent behind them. "I recognized him from the picture." Gilbert sighed, looking a little troubled.

"Do you think that Felicia recognizes him?"

"No, she was head over heels for him back then. If she recognized him we'd all know about it." She rolled her eyes.

"Luddy doesn't recognize you two." He clenched his fist. "Just after he turned twelve this dumbass hit Ludwig with a truck. He doesn't remember more than a couple things before that." He turned to Lovina, a very serious look in his eyes.

"Don't ever tell him about it. The doctors say he can still remember things on his own, but if we try to tell him things, it could mess it up and he'll get the wrong memories. Maybe even not get them at all. So you and Felicia can't tell him anything."

"Fine, then you can't tell Feli either; there's no way she could keep something like this to herself, and she'd probably throw herself on him." Gilbert nodded in agreement and took the photo.

"I'll keep this in my room. _Opa_ and Luddy won't think anything of it since just after our parents died I hoarded all the photos for a while. This should be the only one from when he was a kid. Felicia won't be able to see it and make the connection."

Lovina nodded, anger having cooled off to a simmer. On the one hand, Lovina supposed head trauma-induced amnesia was a good excuse, but that bastard had just disappeared off the planet, not writing her sister anymore stupid love notes (her sister even told her once in the strictest confidentiality that they had agreed to marry once they were old enough). Felicia had cried for months! She couldn't just forgive the bastard who had broken her sister's heart like that! Grumbling, Lovina brushed off her skirt and stood.

"Whatever, I'll let you finish." To her surprise, Lovina was stopped by Gilbert's hand on her wrist. A tiny bit of color appeared in his pale cheeks.

"Hey, are you okay? I mean…" She shrugged.

"I'm terrified. But what else is new? Ger-san wouldn't show me the note, but I can pretty much guess what it said." She shivered involuntarily and jerked her hand away. "I'm guessing Ger-san gave you some kind of 'big brother' talk."

Gilbert cackled. "Nah, he and Francis actually had to stop me from going looking for That Guy. Since Luddy's accident people've been telling me that I'm a super awesome protective big brother."

… Eh, Lovina was basically the same way with Felicia. "Chigi, who ever said that I'd accept someone like you as my _Fratello_?"

"Kesesese, what makes you think _you_ get a say in the matter? Even whenever Roma-kun comes and gets you and Feli, we'll still be _bruder_ and _schwester_. You're stuck with all of us, now."

Lovina rolled her eyes again. "Whatever. I'm going to take a bath. If you or Ludwig or Francis and Antonio (wherever they are) peep I'll castrate you all with a blunt spoon."

"Yeah, yeah. Franny and Antonio already left for the night. Antonio didn't want to, but Franny had a game he wanted to show him." Gilbert returned to the frustrating task of transposing music and Lovina left, squashing down any warm fuzzy feelings she might have caught during her talk with Gilbert.

But, she reflected later as she soaked in the tub, the part of her heart that wanted to steal away in the middle of the night and run all the way back to Italy where she didn't have to deal with crazy ex's or disappearing and new guardians was silent for once and very small, despite all that had happened today.

To her mild surprise and complete fury (no, she was not slightly touched or anything crazy like that!) Felicia was asleep in her half of Lovina's bed when she got out. Too tired to make a fuss, Lovina got into her pajamas, said her prayers quietly and didn't shove her little sister out of bed when she tried to cuddle.

The next day, Thursday, started off better than the day before, since Lovina was woken up at a decent hour. When Antonio and Francis showed up to drive them all to school, he smiled at her happily and she momentarily lost herself in those deep green eyes until he gave her a fresh tomato. Thankfully she covered it up by saying that she had noticed something in his teeth. In the music room before school she met Im Yong Soo, who very enthusiastically offered to teach her everything in school that had originated in Korea.

Thankfully Leon and Mei distracted the hyper-active boy before she got too annoyed. All that day Lovina glared daggers at Ludwig and made sure to keep him a suitable distance from Felicia. Ludwig was getting more and more exasperated, though it didn't occur to him that he was the only one Lovina was keeping away from her sister. He just assumed it was some kind of coping mechanism to what she had learned last night.

Ludwig had never seen That Guy, but after bugging his brother into telling him what was in the letter, he was feeling more than willing to protect his guests. He couldn't think of either girl as a sister, the way Gilbert did, but the German boy would definitely be a good host!

In the second-to-last class of the day (which Lovina found out was science) the intercom system let out one of those annoying loud tones that let people know that there was about to be an announcement.

"All band and choir students please report to the band room immediately." The freshman looked amongst themselves for a second, confused why they would be randomly called out of class. Then what Mr. Holland said yesterday about a lady talking to them about fundraising clicked. The Italian girl fought down a half smile at seeing the music kid's swagger out of the classroom. It seemed like that was something that all high school bands did, not just White Valley. With a wave of nostalgia she recalled Alfred's special swagger he would do every time the pep band was called out early to get set up for a pep rally.

Shaking her head ruefully (What are you talking about? Lovina didn't miss the people from  
>White Valley at all! She was glad to be rid of them!) Lovina followed her sister and Natalia out of the room.<p>

In the hall, Lovina's hand was taken by Antonio who was gleefully bouncing on the balls of his feet, swinging his hands like a big child.

"Isn't this great, _Querida_? It's like we're _really_ going!" He hummed to himself cheerfully. Lovina looked at Francis and Gilbert who were a little behind them. Judging by their expressions, Antonio had been like this for most of the day.

"Idiot, it's just some lady talking to us about selling candles and crap like that. Besides, it's gonna be impossible. If _one_ person slacks and can't cover their end, _none_ of us can go!"

"Aw, but Lovi~ that's why we're _all_ doing this! We're music kids, we help each other out!" The Italian girl made a scoffing noise. Antonio's smile shrank by a little less than half a centimeter. Was Lovi always this pessimistic?

They had reached the music room, and Antonio found Lovina ripped out of his grasp when Alfred grabbed her and Felicia into a bear hug and swung them around the way he liked to do.

"Hey! I couldn't believe the news whenever they told us and passed out the sign-up sheet!" he laughed. Now they could still do music stuff together and see each other three days a week after school!

"Let me go, you ass! Chigi, you and Antonio get too worked up over the stupidest things!" Lovina would have continued on (God, she hated being scared and man-handled) but Roderich snapped at them to stop making such a ruckus and to sit down before they broke something.

"What's got him so butt sore?" Lovina asked Matthew out of the corner of her mouth.

"It looks like he got lost on the way here, and Gilbert sent him a virus e-mail earlier." The senior girl named Elizabeta gently took his elbow and pulled him to a seat, trying to calm his temper.

~*X*~

Gilbert's mouth curled into a sneer. Lizzie had had this stupid crush on the pansy-ass Austrian for the last few years and had started dressing nicer and more girly, even fooling with her hair and makeup because she had heard that he hated tomboys.

Gilbert hated that the Eli who lived next door to him as kids and had almost always beat him down when they wrestled was changing herself to try and appeal to this arrogant fool. He had vented to Francis and Antonio, and written enough songs about hatred of hypocrisy that Gilbert had honestly hoped that he had worked it out of his system. But every time he saw Elizabeta posing like that… Gilbert dropped unceremoniously into a free desk in between Francis and Antonio. A quick glance around proved that That Guy hadn't snuck in with the White Valley kids, and his cute new sisters were talking with the kids from their old school and playing the 'introduction marathon' game along with the Wisty's kids. Gilbert didn't see how anyone could remember all of those names…

"Okay, okay! We'll all have a meet and greet when Miss Brittany is done!" Suddenly Mr. Holland appeared from his office, a young lady (maybe two years out of college?) at his elbow. Chastised, they sat in the desks while Miss Brittany stood in front of them with a brightly decorated box that had some company logo on it.

Lovina, from where she was sitting in front of Natalia, in between Alfred and Antonio, and behind Felicia, suddenly got a flash of intuition telling her that this woman was just going to be a pain and a waste of time.

Her suspicion turned out to be correct. The lady's spiel felt like a standard one, and she pulled out examples of crappy prizes that they would get for selling X amount of items and making Y amount of money. Lovina zoned in and out while Miss Brittany babbled on, jerked occasionally out of it when Mr. Holland would make some comment about how when _he_ was in high school he had raised a lot of money selling fruit. Lovina sardonically raised an eyebrow. Why would people buy fruit from kids when they could get cheaper, riper ones at the grocery store?

"Does anybody, like, have any questions?" Oh god, when Brittany wasn't following a script she sounded just like Feliks!

Natalia, with a frown on her face, raised her hand. "This has been bothering me for a while, but does Apollo even _know_ about third world countries? How are they supposed to afford this?"

Brittany looked confused, so Mr. Holland answered. "He's footing the bill for them. The reason why we're fundraising is so we can tag along with a tour group before the Music for the World Festival to see Costa Rica. Because if we're going to another country, we're going to have fun doing it!"

Brittany left a little after that, leaving catalogs and order forms for the kids. Mr. Holland carefully shut the door after her and got into what Lovina was starting to recognize as Mr. Holland's 'lecture pose'.

"I only have one counter statement to Brittany's spiel that I'm sure most of you will agree with: I hate prostitution." He said, staring the group in the eyes.

Everyone laughed, and Mr. Holland continued "And that's what fundraising is: going out there on the streets and selling anything you can to whoever you can." He gestured to the things Brittany left. "I hate this kid of fund raising. That's why we're also going to be doing other things. Does anybody have any suggestions?"

A boy that Lovina didn't know wearing the St. Wisteria's uniform raised his hand hesitantly. When he spoke, he had an Indian accent.

"We could do a series of car-washes-" immediately Mr. Holland's face turned a strange color, and the upperclassmen from World Series sniggered.

"What? That was a perfectly reasonable suggestion!" Arthur Kirkland protested, trying to support his underclassmen.

"_Sí_, normally it would be…" Antonio said, chuckling into his hand.

"Six years ago," Mr. Holland said, "the cheerleaders had a fund raiser for new uniforms. One girl thought that it would be appropriate to bring a brillo pad instead of a sponge."

"A brillo pad?" Alfred wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"The girl in question happened to be washing a school board member's car before a teacher noticed and stopped her. Since then, no one has been allowed to do a car wash."

… Wow. Now Lovina was sure that she really had heard it all.

People suggested a few more ideas half-heartedly, a little afraid that some cheerleader had ruined their idea for them too.

Francis spoke up. "The Bad Friends Boy Band just accepted a gig at a restaurant, and we could ask them how they would feel about people going to the tables and asking for tips or something." A few more ideas were passed around until Arthur suggested selling Francis on a street corner.

Mr. Holland figured that was all he was going to get out of them for now. So he had them go around introducing themselves, what instrument and/or voice part they were, what grade they were in, which school they attended, and something interesting about themselves. Eventually it got to Lovina.

"Lovina Vargas, Soprano/clarinet, freshman, this is my 2nd day at World Series. Until now I was at White Valley, and…um… I like gardening."

When they left a few minutes later, Lovina couldn't help but feel like there was maybe a slight chance of them possibly being able to go, and of the trip ending will.

And for the record, she totally felt like breaking Antonio's face, not squeezing his hand when he took hers. "So Lovi, now what do you think? Not so hopeless anymore, right?"

"Yeah right, there's no way we can raise that much money in time." This would be a debate between them for a while. But it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. He would keep bugging her not to be cynical, and she would keep him realistic. A part of her thought that it would help the 'pretend' relationship that they worked together like that, and a much smaller part of Lovina's heart thought that maybe they could stop pretending and she could open herself up to him a little more. But she refused to acknowledge that part and stuffed it away where she couldn't dwell on it all day.

"¡_Sí se buele_!"

**(A/N: lol! I knew the way to get my beta working would be to post the chapter early! My evil plan was a success! I hope you all like it! As you read this, I'm likely working on chapter 7, so hopefully it will be up quicker than this one was. I'm really sorry for the wait!)**

**(A/N: wow, I'm really sorry about the wait. I also apologize because my beta-sama is very busy at the moment, but once she gets this chapter corrected I'll replace it, so please don't worry about that. Most of the translations are self-explanatory, but Sí! Que tiene sentido means 'yes! That makes sense!', and at the very end, Antonio is saying 'yes we can!' (He's such an optimist.) I hope you enjoy this chapter and the lack of cliffhangers. Please review if you have any rants, critique, flames, compliments, or requests.)**


	7. let's do the time warp again

**(A/N: Oh my god, I never expected the chapter to take so long. All I can really say is that life and an anime convention got in the way. The last page or so of this was written while waiting in line for a cosplay contest. I just wanted to add some quick notes before I posted this. **

**That Guy is NOT Turkey, France, or any other character from Hetalia. I like them too much to demonize any of them XD. That Guy is an ORIGINAL CHARACTER. Normally I hate those, because it's too easy to drift into Mary/Marty Sue/Stu territory, but I wanted to try him because to me, he's the personification of what I don't like with Yandere characters. He's angry, possessive, jealous, frightening, willing to hurt people he 'cares' about, and he thinks 'no; stop' is a turn on. I know Fandom has labeled Spain as one due to Hima-papa's notes on Spain, but I'm trying to emphasize what we actually see of Spain in the series. He's a big, cuddly, smiley goof-ball who adores Romano and Ita-chan.**

**A reviewer has asked me before to cut out the whole band/ Costa Rica plot and just focus on the relationship between Antonio and Lovina, but I had two stories, a band centric one where they all bond (platonically, not romantically) and go on a trip, and one where Romano/a is being stalked and Antonio playing white knight. I was interested in writing both, but I realized that they were both missing something. I didn't particularly like either one until I combined those elements, and then My Fake Boyfriend was born.**

**My inspiration for the band story was hearing about other high school bands up at college from other former 'band geeks' and realizing that my band was lucky we were so close, and all of these anecdotes deserved to be written down. The romantic story was a random brainwave from watching Glee (which I don't own). Rachel was singing Jar of Hearts at prom (totally unfittingly, but that's a rant for a different time), and I got this story when I combined the best of both worlds.**

**Sadly, I probably won't do too much with the less well known characters because I don't know them well enough to write them a lot, though I do intend to research them (meaning re-reading the Hetalia strips, lol).**

**This chapter introduces my Scotland character, Bradcliffe. Arthur calls him by his full name, Patrick (Ireland) calls him Brad, and Peter, as the youngest, calls him Bradley. He won't show up much, but so you know (in case anyone cares about his backstory) he was in band when he went to St. Wisteria's, and Arthur plays his old instrument. now he's in college, though he comes home on the weekend sometimes, mainly to drink. he gets along well with Patrick, he and Arthur hate each other, and he doesn't really care about Peter one way or the other, though he does try to sabotage Arthur and Peter's relationship. he also makes sure to give the best christmas/ birthday gifts to his youngest brother.**

**The last thing is that i realized i had them going to school on friday twice. i wanted to trim it down, combine it into one friday, but the sequence of events would have been screwy. **

**Thank you to all of my beautiful sexy-fine reviewers who have inspired me when I really couldn't remember how to form a complete sentence. You're the reason I'm writing this!)**

* * *

><p>They were almost at the Fran-van when Gilbert and Francis noticed Antonio grimace when he heard Alfred yelling for them to wait; he had something really important he had forgotten to tell them.<p>

"So I don't know what Grandpa Beilschmidt said, but we're having the screening party at Arthur's house on Saturday. It's gonna be awesome! So you guys have to come!"

"Oui, we wouldn't miss it for the world. Though I am astonished you didn't come to moi first." Francis had always been the one who supported and helped Alfred's love of film, even in the beginning, when Arthur had said that it was a waste of time; Francis had given Alfred his parents' old video camera and looked up things about cinematography for him.

"Yeah, but Artie's house and TV are bigger and I'm gonna invite the entire music group to come."

Alfred bounced on his heels happily before looking at the twins. "You two are coming too, right? You have to come!" Alfred said, giving them a puppy dog look. Antonio had a sudden urge to say 'no' for Lovi and tell him to stay away, but he crushed the impulse down, smiling as though he were a good guy who didn't care who came onto his (fake) girlfriend. If he got upset just because Lovi had a male friend then he didn't deserve her at all. The twins' both agreed to go, expressing curiosity about the movie since neither of them had been in it, or had helped with production.

"It's gonna be great. I even convinced Francis and Arthur to cross dress for the lesbian couple part!" One side of Lovina's mouth quirked, earning Alfred's crazy laugh. "So it'll be at eight! See you guys later, Arthur said he'd give me and Mattie a ride home!" With one more bear hug, Alfred left.

They made it home safely, though Ger-san remained in his study, attaching pins to several maps determining where Romulus had been and trying to establish a pattern. The new chore schedule said that it was Felicia's turn to make dinner, so she managed to scrape together something using old spaghetti noodles, and the instant sauce the Beilschmidts had in their cup board. (They didn't even have enough fresh ingredients to make anything from scratch! How were the Vargas' supposed to feed these people without decent ingredients? Lovina needed to go to a grocery, as well as see what was ready in her own garden at home)

Since it was later when they got home, Lovina changed into a t-shirt and jeans, re-doing her hair ribbon since it had started to sag. The others changed as well. Lovina totally didn't care that Antonio's shirt was just a little too tight so that she could tell that he had at least a little muscle in his arms and chest. She helped set the table with Francis (making sure to not to touch him at all, even by accident). They ate, not complaining about the food quality since usually, they were told, this would have been Ludwig's night to cook and he was awful at anything that wasn't sweets. It didn't seem like something that he would be good at making, but apparently he had 'hidden depths'; well, according to Felicia, at least.

After dinner, Gilbert and Antonio cleared the table. The other teenagers drifted into the living room and Lovina found herself on the sofa, with Felicia curled up on her side, using Antonio's chest as a pillow while Gilbert flipped through the channels on the television until he found some cop show that had the cops shooting up suspects and criminals left and right. It was a little funny because of just how ridiculous it was. If the main character was a real cop, his ass would be thrown into jail because of police brutality in five minutes flat! But Lovina didn't really pay that much attention. Antonio's arm was wrapped over her, so that she was trapped in a hug between him and Felicia, whose legs were draped across Ludwig's lap. His chest was paradoxically hard because of muscles-but also soft-and with her ear pressed against him his heartbeat was a pleasant back-ground noise, soothing her into relaxing somewhat. Eventually, when she caught Felicia snoring softly, Lovina nudged her awake and declared that the two of them were going to bed.

"Aw, c'mon, it's not even midnight yet," Francis whined.

"Light-weights, light-weights!" Gilbert teased.

Antonio smiled. "I think it's cute that Lovinita takes such good care of her little sister. And it's refreshing to go to sleep early every once in a while, right?" Lovina made her escape while Francis and Gilbert teased Antonio for 'being whipped'.

* * *

><p>She slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning, whining during her nightmares. Eventually she jolted out of sleep feeling like she had been electrocuted. Shivering because of her cooling sweat and nerves she looked around frantically, looking for dark eyes staring . . . but then realized that she was safe in 'her' room at Ger-san's house, her little sister mumbling and stealing the blanket. The clock on the bed-side table said that it was two seventeen in the morning. The fear and adrenaline raced through her system, letting her know that she wouldn't be returning to sleep anytime soon.<p>

With a disappointed groan, she quietly climbed out of bed. Padding silently, she let her eyes adjust while she eased into the bathroom that connected 'her' room and what was supposed to be Felicia's room. She left the door open, not wanting to turn on the light. Her eyes were perfectly adjusted by now so she was fine navigating the house. She turned on the cold water from the faucet and splashed her face a few times then wet a washcloth and tried to wipe away the sweat that felt sticky and gross on her skin.

Once she felt a little less disgusting Lovina softly padded out into the hallway. She thought about maybe practicing her clarinet in the garage or trying to find something quiet to do so she wouldn't wake up the others. Hopefully she could make herself sleepy enough to go back to sleep. To her surprise, one of the dogs was curled up in front of their door. She squeaked in surprise, clapping one hand in front of her mouth.

The dog (Lovina thought it was the German Shepherd) woke up and woofed at her quietly, as though gently chastising her for being up at an unseemly hour making noise. Lovina stiffened up and tried to ease around . . . what was the dog's name? Aster? Kitty? Probably not Blackie. The German Shepherd realized what she was doing and made a grumbling noise like a complaint before getting to her feet and moving out of Lovina's way.

Carefully (hey, this dog could still be dangerous . . . yeah) Lovina moved around the dog and slowly down the hallway. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Aster look between the open doorway and Lovina a few times before deciding to follow Lovina.

By now, she had decided that the dog probably wasn't going to attack. Looking around pointlessly to make sure that no one was awake or could see her, she offered her hand for Aster to sniff. After giving it a polite lick, and giving that doggy-smile, Aster sat still and allowed Lovina to gently run her hands through the dog's fur. It was coarser than Lovina expected it to be, but that didn't make it any less pleasant. For the moment, Lovina was reminded of her cat she had as a child back in Italy. Romano would follow her around (she was the only one he allowed to pet him, and she always felt happy knowing that she was the pet's favorite) until this stray short haired tom would start stalking her cat, purring relentlessly and ignoring claws and teeth until Romano gave up with what always sounded like a sigh to Lovina and allowed the other cat to cuddle him, and wash him, and leave him presents of food. It had broken her heart when her parents divorced and sent Lovina and her sister to live with their grandfather on the other side of the world and she had to leave Romano behind.

Biting back the nostalgia, Lovina stood up from where she had been squatting in front of the dog and wiped her hand on her pajama shorts. (She was still wearing a tank top and shorts) "Do you think these potato heads have tea or something here I can use to calm down?" She asked Aster. The dog looked at her with big brown eyes before barking softly. Unsure whether or not that was a yes or no, Lovina decided to just check and see.

There were no tea bags in any of the cupboards, so Lovina wandered around the house like a ghost, exploring. There were no more pictures around from when Ludwig was a child, which was a good thing, and once all of the plants inside the house and out were watered and weeded properly, and the dog bowls were all re-filled, Lovina crawled onto a wide windowsill that upon further inspection flipped up into a clever storage space. Aster also climbed up and licked her hand when she pulled her knees up to her chest, staring at the almost full moon visible. "I'm so scared." She admitted quietly to Aster and the moon. Now that That Guy knew where she lived again, it was only a matter of time before something awful happened to her or her sister. Or maybe Ger-san would get frustrated with them and kick them out to a proper foster home. Aster leaned against her side, settling her head down on Lovina's lap.

Eventually she dozed off, getting a little bit of sleep before she was awakened by someone with strong arms gently lifting her up. Lovina stirred a little bit but relaxed when a soft voice with a smooth Spanish accent murmured quietly at her. She couldn't make out what was being said, but the rhythm of his footsteps lulled her deeper and closer to unconsciousness. One hand took a hold of his t-shirt and curled closer to his warmth. He smelled like spices, she noted, but was too groggy to pick out which they were.

He gently laid her down in her bed and tucked her in, kissing her forehead softly and whispering "Dream wonderful things for me, Querida." The last thing she remembered hearing was a soft chuckle when she hummed in response. Curse Antonio for being too sweet to her. What was he even doing up anyway? Thoughts swirled around Lovina's head, and she never got into a truly unconscious state, making her a little sad that she couldn't do as he requested. In the morning, Lovina didn't remember anything beyond bustling around the Beilschmidt house, looking for busy work to make her tired enough to go back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day, nothing really unusual happened until after third period when someone had apparently leaked the news that the music department was going overseas. A few people came up to the freshmen music kids and demanded to know whether or not the rumors were true.<p>

"That's a piece of crap!" a boy wearing a letterman jacket shoved Tyr who had answered his question into a locker.

"What the hell?" Leon also found himself pushed when he tried to step in. Natalia and Lovina bristled, getting ready for a fight. The boy (who had three large friends with him) chuckled.

"What? You two want a piece of me?"

Lovina snorted. "No way honey, I want the whole thing." She felt good saying it, but when they sniggered and looked her over, she blushed . . . dammit, she just wasn't good at this 'come back' thing. Tyr got back up and he tried to stand in front of the girls, but unfortunately he was shoved again. Unfortunately for the bullies, that is.

Lars, Matthias, Gilbert, Kim-Ly, and Ivan happened to be passing by at that moment. (Antonio was, in fact, trying to lie in wait in front of Lovi's next class so he could perk up her mid-day doldrums with a tomato, and he ended up missing this entire episode) "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gilbert loudly asked.

"Showing these freshmen bitches their place."

Lars put a heavy hand on the main guy's shoulders. "Here's the thing. Those are band freshmen. No one touches them except for band."

"Oh yeah? Maybe our problem is because they're band, and this bitch-"he gestured at Lovina "-is too mouthy for her own good." Gilbert's eyes turned dangerous.

"Watch it," he warned "that 'bitch' is my sister."

Matthias was helping Tyr to his feet while Gilbert and the jock traded insults. "Are you okay?"

Tyr bit the inside of his cheek. "I was handling it." He hated being babied just because he had some stupid disease.

"Yeah, but if I didn't step in, your brother would kill all of us." ...well, he did have a point. In fact, everyone would be much better off if this whole thing could be resolved quickly and quietly without alerting anyone who would tell Lukas. . .

* * *

><p>Mr. Holland was less than pleased when he was called to the principal's office during his planning period because he found out that eleven students of his were involved in a fight. Eva, Tyr, Leon, Natalia, Lovina, Gilbert, Vash, Lars, Ivan, Kim-ly, and Matthias were sitting in the office chairs glumly. None of the freshmen (save Eva who had a cut lip) were visibly injured, though the upperclassmen all at least had bruises.<p>

"Explain." He said, working his 'I am your band director, and you will do exactly what I say when I say it' mojo for all it was worth.

Leon started, explain how the jocks had asked if it was true that they were going to Costa Rica, and they had pushed Tyr into a locker, then Leon had been pushed, and Natalia and Lovina had started arguing when the seniors, Kim-ly, Ivan, and Lars had showed up.

Gilbert took over telling the story from there. "Then Travers called my new sister a bitch, and Matthias found out that they pushed Tyr, so we were letting them know that no one messes with the band freshmen when Eva shows up and she tried to stop us, but then this dumkoff hits her in the mouth because she was trying to get everyone to stop fighting. He was wearing his class ring, so she got cut up, and, well . . . then Vash showed up."

. . . Well, the combined injury to Eva, insult on Gilbert's family, that someone touched Tyr (and Gilbert explained how Ivan had mostly been watching until Natalia had hit her elbow awkwardly on a locker and teared up) explained why the other guys were at the hospital right now. It was bad enough when Katyusha cried so often, but no one made Ivan's sisters cry. Not even Natalia.

"Did any of the freshmen throw a punch?"

"No, we kept them out of it." Kim-ly said, interjecting for the first time. "We know that you would blow up if we let them get involved."

Lovina squirmed in her seat. Didn't they see her scratch that one guy's face? Didn't they notice him bleeding all over the place, or Natalia kneeing some other guy in the groin?

"Good, you guys go to the band room, I need to talk to the others for a bit, but I'm calling everyone in." Knowing they were treading on dangerously thin ice, the freshmen left, giving one final look at the upperclassmen.

Once they were in the band room, the five freshmen clustered in the small but comfortable chairs in Mr. Holland's office.

"How badly do you think they'll be in trouble?" Eva asked sadly. It was all her fault that Vash had gotten dragged into the fight.

"It won't be as bad as you're thinking. Holland will just yell at them a bit, and maybe make them run laps since its marching season." Tyr said idly.

Lovina shrugged, trying to think of something to stop the excess water in Eva's distraught eyes. "That wasn't even really a fight. You should see some of the stuff that goes down at White Valley." This fight had been tame. No one even had weapons, and no one had broken bones for crying out loud! There wasn't even a broken nose. This couldn't have even really been called a fight. Everyone just ignored the people who were sent to the hospital, since they didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Other people started trickling in the room, coming in twos and threes.

Antonio came in with Francis. Antonio was texting furiously with Gilbert and Francis was smirking to himself. "Lovi! Gilbert just texted what happened!" Suddenly she was pulled into Antonio's arms. "I'm so proud of you~ See, I told you the music cult sticks together!"

"It wasn't anything like that!" She shoved him away. Her hand felt weird, with red sticky blood under the nails and tiny pieces of skin visible . . . it felt weird and made her mildly nauseous so she grabbed a wet wipe and started scrubbing her hand, trying to clean it. "What's with Frances' weird ass grin anyway?" she asked, embarrassed with the subject they were on.

"I'm continuing the fight. I just filled out fifty porno subscriptions in their names to be delivered at their houses." Lovina's mouth twitched, though many other people chuckled.

Then Mr. Holland and the band kids who had actually been in the fight entered the room. They all had glum but mule-headed looks on their faces. Gilbert brightened when he saw Antonio and Francis.

"Sit." Mr. Holland pointed at the desks.

"Dudes, you should have been there!" Gilbert cackled, high-fiving with Matthias before dropping next to Francis. He would have gone on, but Lukas stormed in with Tino and Berwald. He saw Matthias who was covered in bruises and scraped and Tyr who had a tiny scrape on his elbow, and immediately demanded to know what had happened. Tyr rolled his eyes and stressed many times that it wasn't a big deal.

". . . and so I was only shoved once. Pay attention to Matthias. He's the one who was acting like a berserker." Unfortunately Lukas didn't pay attention. Lovina watched him fuss over Tyr and argue with Vash whether Eva's cut lip or Tyr's scrapped elbow needed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide Vash had found more. The Italian girl really hoped that she wasn't that overprotective with her younger sibling.

Eventually all of the music kids showed up. Mr. Holland ignored their questions and gestured them into seats. "The reason why I called you all here is because we need to have what I call a 'come to Jesus' talk. Just now some of you got into a fight." He lectured at them for a while, saying that the music department had a reputation, and they were a collective unit, and if, for instance, the Bad Touch Trio came to school drunk, that would reflect on Kavi (the incredibly gentle guy who had moved there from Thailand last year and whom Lovina had never seen without a kind smile on his face) and if Matthias got into a fight that reflected on Katyusha. He ended by saying of course the other kids would be jealous, but if they beat up everyone who insulted them, the principal wouldn't let them go, and they would let down the kids from Wisty's and White Valley, but most of all, they would be letting those muscle head jocks win and was that what they wanted?

"No. . . But no one aside from band picks on band freshmen. I don't regret it, and I'd do it again." Lars said. The others who had been in the fight murmured in assent.

Lukas considered mentioning that if he had been there, those boys wouldn't have been sent to the hospital. They would have been taken to the morgue.

"Fine. I'll see to your punishment after school. If I catch- no, if I even suspect any of you were in a fight on school property. . ." he trailed off before sending them back to class, warning them not to tell anyone band business. To Mr. Holland's slight surprise, he had to get Katyusha to stop fussing at (and over) Ivan and Natalia for being in the fight.

"Just go back to class, Katyusha. I'll punish Ivan after school." She smiled at him with teary eyes before taking Natalia's elbow and escorting her to class. To Lovina's chagrin, the bad friends were arranging how to escort Francis' 'little sisters', the twins, and Ludwig to all of their classes so no one could pick fights with them. She rolled her eyes, wanting to argue that she was more than capable of going to classes on her own, but she knew that they wouldn't listen. Besides, if they made sure no stupid jock hurt Felicia, she supposed it would be fine.

Mr. Holland was upset with them all day, making Lovina more upset than she thought she would be. This confused Lovina. What did she care that some teacher was upset with her? She upset the math teacher every day without qualm, so why did she feel like a disappointment to Mr. Holland? There was something wrong with this school, she concluded.

In between band and practice, Vash took Eva to the nurses' office to make absolutely sure that there was no possibility of scarring or infection. The girls took advantage and huddled again, this time calling the others to join them.

"So next week is Eva's birthday. It's her first since coming to live with Vash, so we've got to make it special! We've already made the arrangements to have all of us girls stay the night at Elizabeta's so we can have a sleepover party, but during school. . ." Angelique trailed off.

"We should sing happy birthday for her in choir!" Femke giggled.

Kavi, the boy Lovina had learned was from Thailand smiled, tapping the photo of the elephant on his sax case thoughtfully. "What if we all brought some food and had a party in band that day, ana?"

Mr. Holland came back into the main room after making a cup of coffee in his office, and was immediately suspicious when he saw almost the entire band and choir kids huddled together. He moved closer, hoping to hear what they were talking about just as Matthias boasted rather loudly "Yeah! We're going to make Eva cry!" This threw Jethrow Holland through a loop.

"I thought you liked Eva Vogel." Lukas blinked at him owlishly, plainly doubting Mr. Holland's sanity.

"Of course we like her, that's why we're going to make her so happy on her birthday that she cries."

Mr. Holland paused for a moment. "Are you including the rest of the band in this? I'm sure they'd have some ideas."

"Well yeah, we had to tell Vash about everything (good lord, if we had made this a total surprise. . .) and we can't exactly plan in front of Eva." Aside from the two of them, the entire band was there in the huddle.

"No, I meant the kids from White Valley and Wisty's." He received blank looks.

"They're part of this band too." He sighed. "As a matter of fact, this is what we're going to talk about before we start practice. Think about this phrase; 'one band, one sound'." With those kung-Fu esque words of wisdom, Mr. Holland left them to continue plotting.

Not long after school busses from White Valley and St. Wisteria's arrived, carting the band kids. Mr. Holland sat them down in the desks and treated them all to a lecture on how they couldn't break rules or get into fights anymore.

"This brings me into my next point. If we are going to represent America, we need to be one band, not three." He looked them over, slightly exasperated that they were segregated by school.

"That's why we're going to be doing bonding exercises. I already spoke to the principal. The date is still TBA, but one night after a pep game, we're all going to have a camping night in the gym." He talked a bit more about how they would start doing team exercises at the start and finish of every practice. This news was met with mixed enthusiasm.

Mr. Holland passed out the music for a Latin piece. "This song is Festival Sanctus. The last piece of news I have is that my best friend in the whole world, Cora, is in charge of the University Choir department. She told me that she'd be willing to pay us to be extra chorus members in their opera production later this semester." He saw the excited looks on the kids' faces and sighed.

"It's not much; basically this money will let us have peanuts on the plane trip over."

"Oh," Leon said. "That's, like, much less exciting."

"Yeah, but since that's everything I wanted to talk about, let's warm up. Everyone who was in the fight, go run laps on the marching field until I tell you to quit." With a groan, they stood and left while the others started getting instruments out.

* * *

><p>Practice went by in a blur after that. After they warmed up and practiced the song once, Holland sent Berwald out to go fetch the students who were running. After practice, Gilbert got a little impatient while Felicia and Feliks talked about the school uniform for over fifteen minutes. Welcome to my life, Lovina thought.<p>

They eventually made it home, and feeling wired up even though she hadn't really gotten any sleep last night, Lovina changed into a t-shirt and some baggy jeans she had ended up packing even though they really didn't fit her anymore. She couldn't find a belt, so she improvised and used a shoe lace she found at the bottom of her suitcase, tying it tight to keep the pants from sagging like those stupid 'hipsters' at her old school. When she left her (and she supposed Felicia's, since she had yet to sleep in the room designated to her) room, she only barely registered that on the 'chore schedule poster' that Garen kept posted on the wall, it was her turn to make dinner.

How was she supposed to make something decent when the Beilschmidts didn't have anything to cook with? Downstairs Antonio was making a grocery list and trying to detangle three leashes while the three dogs danced excitedly around him.

"_¡Lovinita!_ I was hoping you'd show up! I'm in charge of walking the dogs, so I was thinking we could go shopping for dinner ingredients together."

Lovina frowned. "Idiot, they don't let dogs in the grocery."

Antonio grinned wider. "That's why we'll go to the farmer's market! It's outdoors and across the street from the dog park. We can play with the dogs, and then get stuff on the way back."

After thinking for a moment, Lovina agreed with one condition. "I want to go home first, so we can see what's ready in the garden and do the weeding. No way am I going home to a goat-patch instead of a garden."

Antonio agreed enthusiastically, and successfully got the leashes separated.

"Great! Let's go!" he ordered the dogs to sit and clipped the leashes onto their collars. "Don't worry Lovi; I'll handle the dogs if you're still nervous. It's my job anyway."

Lovina thought about mentioning that she had hung out with Aster last night, but the thought of trying to control one of the excited dogs on the leashes made her pause. If Antonio wanted to be in charge of all three dogs, that was his own business.

After telling Ger-san where they were going and getting some money from the jar in the kitchen labeled 'food money-don't touch', Lovina found herself in the sunshine, one hand looking at the shopping list she had made (Antonio's wasn't up to her standards), ignoring Antonio holding her other hand firmly in his while his free hand held the ends of the dog's leashes. "Let's head to your house first!"

Lovina nodded, suddenly thinking that they would run out of things to talk about and be awkward. To her delight (shut up!) she was wrong. Lovina supposed she was starting to get complacent with Antonio. They started talking about things they loved and hated as well as dreams, likes and habits and people at school and god-but not parents. Antonio respected that when she stopped him from telling how his parents met. He always held her hand, almost like he was afraid she would run off and leave him if he let go.

Hours later, Lovina's cheeks would turn red, remembering his hand surrounding hers in a warm dry cocoon, his rough callouses from guitar and farm work rubbing against her softer outer hand. It both made her insides glow and worried her a little because every time he looked at her like that, it was like he saw someone precious, worthy of all the time and attention he lavished on her.

That wasn't the way someone pretending to be in a relationship acted. But now that That Guy knew where she was, she couldn't afford to drop him now (and she didn't really want to, she admitted quietly to herself).

Lovina (in spite of herself! Don't get the wrong idea) felt a small fragile bubble of something that felt like happiness but had a fair share of hope bubble in her stomach, making her feel almost queasy.

Walking down the street like this with the dogs constantly fetching sticks and other interesting things for their inspection and Antonio holding her hand, talking about everything and nothing felt right for some reason. Not to mention the way he would smile at her in a way that made Lovina forget for a while that they were only pretending to be in a relationship, and it made her think that just maybe she didn't have to be afraid when she was with him.

Eventually they made it to Romulus' house, and Lovina latched the picketed gate the stupid neighborhood committee had insisted everyone get. Since the dogs were panting and it was a hot day out, Lovina retrieved three bowls and filled them with cool water once Antonio let them off the leashes. They drank up and then happily started exploring the Vargas' yard. Antonio also followed Lovina around like the dogs. "The garden's around back," She said, feeling suddenly shy. Antonio told her all about his garden in the country. What if hers was small and pitiful and messy in comparison?

"Wow! It's so cute~!" Antonio was enchanted. This was Lovi's garden that she took care of all on her own! It took up most of the backyard with neat rows carefully laid out so the individual plants got the exact right kind of light, with the squash by the shed so they got shadows during the afternoon, and most of the garden was taken over by tomatoes, staked triumphantly in the sunlight. Sure, there were a few weeds here and there, and it looked like some of the plants needed to be watered, but Antonio could tell that it had been made and tended with love. When he looked at the adorable Lovi, she was red faced and fidgeted nervously with her hands.

"Bull crap. This place is a mess." She avoided looking at him and opened the garden shed, grabbing a couple pairs of gloves. "Here," she said tossing one to Antonio. "We'll weed first, then water and see what's ready." Lovina noticed Blackie and Aster getting close and she snapped "No dogs in the garden!" The dogs looked a little confused, but sat and wagged their tails happily, waiting for praise.

Antonio didn't bother with gloves and just got on his knees in front of the first row of plants, starting to pull out weeds.

"Idiot, I have hoes." Lovina pulled out the gardening implements and tossed one to Antonio, mildly impressed when he caught her clumsy throw.

"Thanks!" They worked mostly in silence, exchanging words every now and then. The dogs sat just outside the garden looking bored. They looked at the two humans as though they were crazy, and Lovina twitched slightly. She wasn't used to having an audience while she worked. Antonio didn't seem to mind; Lovina could hear him whistling cheerfully. Slyly, Lovina dared to glance at Antonio out of the corner of her eyes . . . and screamed bloody murder.

Antonio almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Lovina scream. "What's wrong?" He looked for the source of her distress, but no worms, snakes, or psycho ex-boyfriends were to be found.

Looking back at Lovi, her entire head was red, and she stared at him with wide eyes, shifting her weight back and forth. "Put your shirt back on! Chigi!" She turned and refused to look at him. Though, before she turned away, Antonio caught her eyes trailing up his arms, across his shoulders, and down his chest and abs. It took a few moments to realize that sweet little Lovina probably wasn't used to guys taking off their shirts when they got hot. Laughing Antonio walked to the end of the row he had left his shirt at. "Ha ha, sorry Lovi!" Out of the corner of his eyes, Antonio saw the girl watching him, taking in his muscles flexing when he bent down and straightened up. The Spaniard's grin grew wider, feeling a boost to his ego that his soon-to-be-official (hopefully) girlfriend got flustered and appreciated his body.

"What the hell is a Lovi? Stop calling me that already," she snapped, stabbing at the weeds encroaching her garden particularly viciously.

"You're one~! And why can't I call you that? It's in English and it's not too sappy!" Those were Lovina's main complaints about the Spanish pet names.

"Because it's stupid. It sounds like some kind of dog name, and my name is Lovi-_na_." Antonio was about to respond when he noticed that the dogs had stiffened and Blackie, the older Doberman Ludwig had adopted after the dog had gotten too old to be a drug-sniffer smelled the air a few times.

"Yoo-hoo! Lovina! I thought I saw you." To Antonio's slight confusion cute Lovi stiffened before turning to look at a small old lady leaning over the fence.

"Hey Mrs. Yenta." The lady looked Antonio up and down suspiciously. Blackie (to Antonio's amusement) whined, got up and barked twice before sitting in front of her. That had been Blackie's sign that someone had drugs back in the day.

"Keep those brutes under control!" Mrs. Yenta snapped. "And who is this?" The neighbor-lady gestured to Antonio.

"_Bue_- Good afternoon! I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo." He paused, then added "I'm Lovi's new boyfriend, nice to meet you!" He smiled brightly, wanting Lovi's drug carrying neighbor to like him. In his nervousness, Antonio had accidentally started in Spanish. Mrs. Yenta glared at Antonio before switching her gaze to Lovina.

She talked for a while, insinuating that Lovina's virtue was in question and how when she was Lovina's age, respectable girls didn't mess around in the dirt with half-naked foreign boys (Antonio had forgotten to put his shirt back on, since he had been distracted by Lovi's old neighbor lady), and Lovina's pants were disgraceful. "I can't really say I'm surprised," she carried on, as though she were talking to someone else. Granted, if Blackie was to be believed, the neighbor lady (Yenta, or someone like that) was at least carrying drugs, but was most likely under the influence or as high as a kite. "Your parents were trouble too; your father probably taught you and your sister-"

Antonio bristled, seeing cute Lovi stiffen, cheeks red with embarrassment. He was about to answer back when Lovina grabbed his arm.

"Don't. She's just a senile old lady, and we've got everything we need." She paused, looking him over and seeing that he was still angry. "Look, I'm fine let's just go." Kitty joined Blackie by the fence, curiously sniffing the air. Aster moved as close to Lovina as she could while remaining outside the Garden, whining.

Very reluctantly, he helped Lovina carefully pile harvested plants into a couple reusable shopping bags she had found in her kitchen. Then he called the dogs over. After attaching the leashes to their collars he took Lovina's free hand and kissed her on the nose ignoring Yenta's sputtering about propriety and how Lovina already had a perfectly nice young man. Lovina never answered back, so Antonio grudgingly took his cue from her, and they left Lovi's old house, making a show of locking everything back up properly then looking pointedly at the neighbor lady who was still talking at them. Once they were back on the road- er, sidewalk, Lovina squeezed his hand for a moment before yanking it away.

"Sorry about her. She's always been crazy, but since her husband died Yenta went off the deep end. Now she's been trying to buy everyone out." Lovina snorted. "As though owning an entire street would make her better than the rest of us. Nonno refused to sell, so she's been looking for a reason to try and make him."

Antonio snickered and reassured adorable Lovi that he wasn't offended, and that her neighbor was probably on drugs, if Blackie was to be believed.

"No fucking way," she dead-panned.

"But Blackie had an almost perfect track record for this sort of thing!" Antonio protested, taking her hand again.

Eventually they made it to the farmer's market. Sure enough, it was right across the street from the dog park, and Lovina saw other people with dogs leashes buying fresh produce, so one of them didn't have to wait for the other one to shop while they watched the dogs.

The dogs all looked around curiously, wagging their tails, but since they seemed to be on their best behavior, Lovina didn't complain. The market was a bunch of stalls arranged into aisles and rows. Lovina decided that she liked this place. It wasn't too crowded so she didn't feel pressed in, but it was lively enough that Lovina didn't feel out of place.

It was obvious that Antonio went to this place fairly often. He smiled and acknowledged the people selling stuff, calling them by name and exchanging pleasantries. They were wandering by what was called the Spicer's Row when an older lady called out to them. Antonio grinned and squeezed Lovi's hand. "Let's go _Querida~!_ That's Mama Odile- she's a Cajun lady who's friends with my mom. She'll give us a good deal~!"

"Do we even need spices?" Lovina rolled her eyes.

"Well, I wasn't sure if you were planning on using anything in dinner, but I don't think _Abuelo_ has any." Lovina blinked, nonplussed. It was incomprehensible that someone would try to cook without spices. Antonio just grinned at the look on her face and kissed her on the cheek. Then he turned to Mama Odile and spoke in a flurry of Spanish, eventually introducing his _'Princesa Lovinita'_. Antonio spoke for a while, eventually making Lovina feel awkward because she wasn't sure what he was saying.

"So you're setting up a kitchen?" Mama Odile eventually asked Lovina in a strong Cajun accent.

"Er, yeah." Lovina felt awkward still unsure of what to say.

"Say, can Lovi have a sample of some of your spices?" Antonio asked, sounding like a kid asking for sweets.

"Of course, dear." She replied, sounding motherly. She showed Lovina her fresh home-grown spices, and let her taste a lot of them. When Lovina heard the price, she immediately agreed to buy enough to stock the Beilschmidt kitchen for the foreseeable future. The spice bottles (old washed out small perfume bottles) were wrapped in cloth to make sure that they wouldn't crack or break and Mama Odile leaned over her counter to wink conspiratorially at them and whisper "My special price, just for you, Antonio."

"_Gracias_~!" he chattered at her for a while longer in Spanish before they left her stall.

"Sorry for leaving you out, Lovi, Mama Odile is a Spanish teacher as her day job, and she always makes mom and me speak in Spanish with her for practice."

"Whatever. Just warn me next time you pull something like that so I don't look like an idiot," Lovina mumbled. Then Antonio noticed the dogs. The three of them were all tense, trying to edge Antonio and Lovina closer together, raising their hackles at the people around them suspiciously. Antonio's smile dropped for a moment, before picking it back up again. The dogs had always been sensitive to the mood around their pack, but fortunately it didn't seem like Lovi had noticed yet. Glancing around casually while he talked about picking up anything else she needed, Antonio saw the tail of a black leather jacket turn around an aisle, and a head of spikey red hair disappear. That Guy had followed them here.

Should Antonio warn Lovi that he was here? He didn't want her to worry or get stressed about it, and even if he did show himself Antonio was here, and the dogs were wired enough they would attack him if he touched cute Lovi. It would be better to keep her in a good mood, since her good moods seemed so rare. All afternoon, Lovi hadn't cringed away from his kisses and she was holding his hand back, even though he had slackened his grip enough that she could pull away anytime she wanted to. Lovi was at her most natural state, and was relaxed around him. She wasn't smiling, because Lovi rarely did, but Antonio could tell that she was happy. Let That Guy watch them and make of that what he would.

Lovina led him around, unaware of the dogs' uneasiness until Kitty snapped and growled at a man who got too close while Lovina was examining dried pepper seeds.

"What's up with the dogs?" she asked. They were all tense, ready to spring at a moment's notice. When Antonio didn't answer her immediately, a sudden cold feeling washed over Lovina. Looking around suspiciously she saw Him ducking hastily out of sight. Lovina sidled closer to Antonio.

"How long has he been following us?" she whispered.

"The dogs only reacted about two minutes ago." Antonio noticed sweet Lovi's breathing quickening, and he felt very glad that they had everything they needed, and that they were close to the entrance. This made him feel more secure. Mustering his brightest smile, Antonio had Blackie sit next to him. "Hey Lovi~ Blackie here looks really old, right?" Lovina looked at him as though he was crazy, and nodded slowly.

"Well, he's pretty spry for his age, and look at his teeth!" Antonio pulled back Blackie's upper lip to show off his needle-sharp teeth. "Ludwig trained them all to attack if someone tries to hurt or scare part of the pack. And they all really like you~ See, Aster hasn't left your side at all!" He took sweet scared Lovi's hand and led her out of the farmer's market. Slowly her breathing evened out.

To Antonio's delight, there had been a series of vandalisms in the park, and now they were only letting people who had dogs with them into the park. That Guy wouldn't be able to follow them in. If that failed, Antonio knew of five other exits that were closer to Ger-san's house than this one. Eventually they settled at a picnic table, one of them throwing a toy for the dogs while the other laid out enjoying the sun and keeping an eye on the produce and groceries they had with them. When one of their arms got tired, they would swap positions. The dogs had rested a little at Lovina's house, and they were still worked up from the farmer's market, so they had hours of pent up energy to vent.

After a while, Lovina calmed down enough to contribute more than one word answers to Antonio's questions, and started talking on her own.

"You know, these dogs aren't too bad," Lovina said, watching Antonio throw the toy. He used a bit more strength than necessary to impress her with how far he could throw it. "Don't get me wrong, the cat I had back in Italy was way better, but even these guys have their uses."

"I should take you to my family's house in the country." At her raised eyebrow Antonio chuckled. "It really belongs to dad's American business friends, but they say that we can go anytime, because dad works too hard and no one's lived there for years. Apparently, it's so old it was around during the American civil war or something. Anyway, I have a key, and we could go there for a day and relax~ Then we could play in the garden, and take walks in the field and woods, and play in the creek, and~"

Lovina cut him off with a snort. "Idiot. Alfred's screening is tomorrow, and we've got church Sunday." She saw the pout on his face and amended with a "Maybe next week." Antonio's face nearly split in half with the force of his smile. "It's a date~!"

* * *

><p>When they returned home that evening, Ger-san was in the living room scolding Gilbert for getting into a fight. It turned out that Mr. Holland had called to tell their guardians about it. He didn't seem impressed with Gilbert's chivalry, and warned him that if he got into another fight, Garen would stop letting the bad friends boy band use the garage as a practice space. He also scolded the lot of them for not telling him about the fund-raising, and did any of them really expect that he would let them out of the country without his supervision? Lovina made bruschetta with a couple of side dishes, and then elbowed Antonio with a red face when he complimented her on her cooking and muttered under her breath in Italian.<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning, Antonio climbed down the stairs to fix breakfast for himself when he paused, a smile glowing. From his vantage point, Antonio could hear Lovi sing quietly in the kitchen! Aside from choir, Lovi was shy and would immediately stop singing if she thought that someone was listening. She was so cute, but Antonio sometimes wished that Lovi was more self-confident and expressive. Though now that he got closer, Antonio could tell that his girlfriend (if only it were real~) was singing a sad song.<p>

"_It's not a cry that you hear at night, and it's not somebody who's seen the light_

_"It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah_." Lovina crooned softly to herself. Something tugged at Antonio's heartstrings when he stood in the doorway watching Lovi washing last night's dishes. She seemed like she was about to cry.

"Shh, don't cry, Lovi. Please don't sound so sad." When Antonio found himself with the Italian girl, it felt like if he could just make her smile everything would be better, or if he could make her happy. . .

"Wh-what the hell? What are you doing? What time is it?" Antonio frowned, seeing the deep bags under her eyes.

Ignoring her questions, Antonio asked "_Mi princesa_, how many cups of coffee have you had?" Her hands were twitching and Antonio was sure that she hadn't slept and had drunk ungodly amounts of caffeine to make up for it.

"Two."

Antonio raised one of his eyebrows skeptically.

"Pots."

"_Dios mio_, you can't just not sleep and then load up on caffeine. You'll just make yourself sick!" Antonio would talk to Ger-san later and see if there was any way they could get sleeping pills for Lovina.

"I'm fine. Besides, what makes you think that I can't sleep?" That came out far more defensive than Lovina planned.

"I heard you moving around the other night, and after a while I found you on the window seat, and those bags under your eyes have been growing!" Antonio was becoming a little worried about Lovina.

* * *

><p>Gilbert and Francis found them a few minutes later. Lovina was drying the last of the plates and cups with Antonio sitting on the counter next to her having successfully changed the subject, and now he was chattering about turtles or something.<p>

Gilbert frowned and pulled Francis into the living room. "What's wrong?" Francis asked seeing the look on Gilbert's face.

"I dunno, I just get kinda confused when I see the two of them. Part of me wants to go 'way to go, 'Tonio!' The other part wants him to back the hell off of my little sister. It's like I know she's safe with him . . . but it's Antonio, so she's not safe at all. And it's weird that until just now I was so happy that Antonio finally got another girlfriend after breaking up with Femke, but if he screws Lovina up any more than the last guy did, then I've gotta choose between Antonio and Lovina!" Gilbert said, leaning against the wall. Francis smirked, enjoying the drama of Gilbert's Bad Friend and older brother personas fighting for dominance.

"Don't just stand there and smirk, think what would you do if Antonio was flirting with one of your fake little sisters?" Francis' grin shrank while he considered the possibility.

"Well, I trust my little sisters, so if it's what they want then I trust them to handle themselves. Of course, I would also pull _Antoine_ aside and tell him that if he takes the, ah, physical aspect of _l'amour_ above the PG-13 level, I'll have to do something drastic." Francis said after thinking a while.

"Yeah, but I just met Lovina, and it's not like she really likes Antonio, she's just using him. . . but then again, it's not like she's acting now." They both peeked in the doorway to see Antonio holding a tomato up to Lovina's reddened cheek. She swatted his hand away and tried to grab the tomato at the same time. The sides of her mouth twitched up while she bickered good-naturedly with Antonio.

"My advice would be to try and find a balance in your cock-blocking and figure out if you're doing it because you're her brother or his bad friend."

"Hey, you're right! As long as I'm cock-blocking Antonio, who cares where it's coming from!" Gilbert's chest swelled with pride from 'figuring out' a solution.

"Ve~ I wish you wouldn't." Felicia's voice came suddenly from behind. "_Sorella_ hasn't been sleeping very well and when she does, she wakes me up because she talks in her sleep and starts screaming," she said quietly. "Lovi's been stressed about That Guy and moving here, and starting a new school, but when she's with Antonio, she calms down."

Felicia felt bad. She was saying one thing, but she felt another way. She would never say it out loud, but she didn't like Lovina with Antonio any more than Gilbert did. Her sister had gotten so hurt last time and what if Antonio turned out to be another That Guy? Lovi had never said anything about it, but Feli and Alfred had speculated with Feliks and Toris about the occasional bruises on Lovi's arms and face. Lovi claimed that she was clumsy, but her friends were scared that in some terrible way, That Guy had hurt her.

Antonio was nice, but couldn't he just leave her alone until Lovi felt better, and then Lovina could meet someone nice, handsome, and stable, like Ludwig?

If you cut to the heart of the matter, Felicia thought that her sister was too good for Antonio. She wasn't ready for boys again period. It was a terrible thought, and Feli was ashamed of it, but it was still there, nagging in a dark corner of her mind.

"How long has she had trouble sleeping?" Francis asked with a frown.

"Ve~ Well, it's been off and on, but she's been screaming in her sleep for about a month." With a pensive frown Francis followed Felicia into the kitchen to help set the table. As expected, Garen appeared from around the door to his study.

"You know, you didn't have to hide, _Opa_," Gilbert said in a would-be-casual voice. The Prussian boy had a good idea exactly what- or rather who, was responsible for Lovina's distress. If what Antonio said was true, then That Guy was following his new little sister. Garen shrugged.

"Young people tend to shut up about certain subjects if they thing that stuffy old people are listening."

Gilbert's frown grew. "I didn't even notice." Ever since that awful day when Garen had called Gilbert to remind him and his friends that Ludwig had to be home early because his academic team had a meet the next day Gilbert had always kept a close, protective eye on his sibling(s). The call itself wouldn't have been too bad, except Ludwig wasn't with them, and Francis had told Gilbert that he went home already. That was the first time Gilbert felt truly helpless, and unable to protect someone precious to him. Now that his family had suddenly grown things were starting to slip through his fingers despite his best efforts and affect his family.

"We can't do anything about Lovina until she trusts us. Lovina seems like she's expecting that fool Romulus to show up any minute to take them back home. If we could ease her into accepting that this will be her home for the foreseeable future it would make this transition easier for everyone." Garen Beilschmidt paused to groan. "I'm going to kill Romulus next time I see him! What kind of person just abandons two teenage girls with a note on the fridge?" Family was very important to Garen. Gilbert chuckled darkly to himself.

"Threatening her family and making her feel like a burden probably isn't the way to make her feel welcome, Opa."

He sighed in acknowledgement. "Still, I haven't spoken to- let alone seen the man in a decade, and he goes off and names me their godparent in his will? For that matter, what would possess a man to run off around the world for six months leaving two teenage girls alone?" Garen was steaming mad. Who abandoned their family like that? He was the only family those girls had on this continent and he just went off and left them with a post-it note on the fridge! What kind of grandparent was he?

"Say, how about we have a big 'welcome to the family' dinner? The Awesome can bully Francis and Antonio into making something or just staying out of the way if you don't want them around."

Garen smiled slightly. He could always depend on Gilbert to take care of the family- when he wasn't pulling one of his immature pranks or getting into fights with his two friends.

"We should-" his agreement was cut short by Felicia bouncing into the room.

"Ve~ _Nonno_ Beilschmidt, Gilbert! Antonio says that breakfast is ready!" Oh god, Garen had another nick-name? He was going to kill Romulus Vargas the next time he saw him.

* * *

><p>Later the bad friends' boy band were working on their set-list when Lovina stalked into the garage and plopped on the sofa, facing away from them. "My stupid little sister's being annoying, so I'm reading in here," she grumbled, pulling out a book and seemingly opening to a random page and reading from there. The boys didn't pay her a lot of attention and just continued working. If Lovina wanted to listen to them and had to make an excuse then that was her business. After a while, during a break between songs, Antonio noticed that Lovina was slightly slumped and her breathing had deepened and evened out.<p>

"Hmm? She fell asleep?" Francis asked peering around at her face. Lovina wrinkled her nose and shifted in her sleep muttering something in what sounded like Italian.

"Aww, I guess she just needed a lullaby to get to sleep!" Antonio cooed, strumming softly on his guitar. He had made sure to turn down the amp, so it was about as loud as an acoustic guitar. Softly Antonio cooed a Spanish lullaby. She shifted again and seemed to settle down.

Quietly the bad friends left the garage without saying a word. Francis hung the 'Quiet-songwriting in progress' sign on the knob and the three of them joined the rest of the family in the living room.

Lovina was startled awake when a hand gently shook her shoulder. Giving a startled yelp, Lovina jumped back and flung her arm back. She made contact with a male who also made a noise of surprise and grabbed her arm.

"Wow, great reflexes, Lovi! If I hadn't pulled back, you might have broken my nose!" Antonio didn't seem angry at all, just surprised and a little humorous. Lovina felt a little guilty seeing a red mark under his chin, but quickly squashed it down- the mark was already fading.

"What were you even doing?" she snapped. Antonio seemed a little shocked.

"_Lo siento_- ah, uh, Gilbert and Francis said that we should start getting ready for Alfred's viewing party, and I know you were looking forward to it."

Now Lovina did feel guilty. "Oh. Yeah." Suddenly she was aware of her position half-sitting up and Antonio sitting in front of the couch staring at her.

"I'll go change into something better. Any idea how many people are going to be there?" She sat up and edged around Antonio.

"Um. . . I know everyone who was in the movie will be there, and Arthur's brothers might be home . . . maybe a few more people, since Alfred invited everybody in the band and choir, but who knows how many will actually show up?"

"So you have no idea."

Antonio's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah, but Alfred said it wouldn't be do big a deal, so what you're wearing should be fine."

"Yeah, but it's his first movie screening, so you know Feli's going to make us both wear something nice. .." Sure enough, both Italian twins changed into summer dresses. Felicia's was a soft baby blue, and Lovina's was a burnt orange. Ger-san looked at them while the girls were chilling in the living room waiting for the boys to get ready and sighed shaking his head. Weren't they a little too dressed up for a home-movie screening?

The boys were down not long after that, and then they disappeared for the evening, letting Garen enjoy a well-deserved . . . long night calling everyone who owed him a favor and who would take a favor from Garen in the hope that someone would be able to track down Romulus.

* * *

><p>There were more people at the party than they expected. Including herself and Feli there were twenty-three people there! Alfred and Matthew were there, of course, and given as the screening was at Arthur's house, Arthur, Patrick, and their younger brother in elementary school, Peter, were all there. Lise and Michelle had come along with Leon and Kyle to see Arthur and Francis cross-dressing. Kyle had also brought his younger sister who was Peter's age, name Wendy. To Lovina's mild surprise, Lise and Michelle had talked shy little Eva into coming, and Vash had accompanied her.<p>

Carlos had also come, since as he put it 'everyone else from White Valley came, and even if it was Alfred's movie, Matthew was still there, and besides, there was free food.' Elizabeta, Roderich, Toris, and Feliks were also there, since Elizabeta had dragged Roderich, and the other three had roles in the movie.

Matthew seemed happy with the turn-out, but Alfred had hoped that more people would come, since he had invited everyone. But that didn't stop his enthusiasm when Lovina and Felicia showed up. He swung them around in a bear hug, drawing laughter from Felicia and half-hearted swearing attempt from Lovina.

"So how's the party shaping up?" Lovina asked once Alfred let them go, her face still red from embarrassment. Those who went to White Valley was used to Alfred's manhandling, but everyone else was still staring.

"Pretty good, we're gonna start the movie soon! Hey, would you do me a favor and go get some chips and dip from the kitchen?" Alfred asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Chigi, I thought we were here as guests!" Lovina elbowed past him and conveniently found the kitchen. Mildly impressed by the marble counter-tops, Lovina couldn't help but notice there were burn marks in the glaze in a few places. Maybe Arthur Kirkland and his family were as bad at cooking as Alfred?

Lovina pulled the dip out of the fridge, set it out on the counter. There was a tall cupboard that looked promising, so Lovina opened the door. . . weird that someone put a mirror on the inside of the doors, but who was she to judge? Lovina had just found the pesky chips when she sensed movement out of the corner of her eye. When she saw a tall red-head with pale skin behind her, Lovina's limbs froze in place and a scream ripped out of her throat, cut off short when he turned around. Instead of cold, flat sinister black eyes, Lovina looked into startled bottle green eyes topped by large red bushy eyebrows. This was obviously a relative of Arthur's. He was also taller, and Lovina saw a few freckles across the bridge of his nose.

"What the hell?" The mystery relative asked. Before Lovina could unscramble her brain and try to think of a response, it seemed like everyone rushed in, led by Alfred who had grabbed what looked like a cricket bat on his way in, and Antonio who immediately pulled Lovina into his arms and checked for any obvious signs of injury or distress. It was chaos for a few minutes while everyone wanted to hear both her and Arthur's relative's stories.

"What did you do to that poor girl, Bradcliffe?" Arthur snapped.

"_Mi novia_, what happened?" Antonio was worried and perplexed.

"C'mon, jerk Arthur, how do you know that girl didn't do something to Bradley?" Peter whined, hanging onto his brother's arm.

Alfred and Matthew appeared as lost as everyone else until they simultaneously appeared to get an idea. While Felicia and Antonio led Lovina into the living room Alfred caught her eye and tried to ask her a question telepathically. Miraculously, Lovina seemed to get the message and gave a tiny jerk of her head. Alfred felt put out and a little guilty. He and Matthew had spent tons of time at Arthur's house. They should have noticed that Bradcliffe and That Guy looked a lot alike from behind and warned Lovina before she came.

Antonio stayed glued to Lovina's side the rest of the night, holding her hand and laughing while giving some excuse to people who still asked what had happened. When Alfred finally started the movie, his eyes widened when the Spanish boy oh-so-subtly put his arm around Lovina's shoulders. It was doubly surprising when she didn't immediately throw it off, and leaned slightly on him. Determined to be a good director, Alfred stopped staring at them and looked at the crowd as a whole, trying to gather their expressions and use them as a critique- How did they like it? Did he change his script too much from the original? Was it too much like the original? Absorbed with the others, Alfred never spared Lovina and Antonio more than a cursory glance after that.

* * *

><p>When the movie was over, Antonio claimed that he had left something inside, and that he needed to fetch it right away. Almost everyone had left already (they stayed late because Francis had the keys and he wanted to have a long talk with Alfred about his camera work and something called Mise-en-scene) so Alfred was easy to spot and pull away into a separate room.<p>

"What's up, dude?" Alfred asked, curious.

This had been on Antonio's mind for a while, nagging at him. "Why is Lovi so afraid of 'That Guy'?" Alfred's face became closed off. "I know you know. You and your brother are Lovi's best friends. Please, I just want to know what Lovi's going through so I can help her!"

"Don't you think you should be asking Lovina these things?" Alfred asked slowly.

"She's not ready to tell me yet-but I need to know if I'm going to protect her. We were followed yesterday, and if we didn't have the dogs with us, I'm sure Lovi would have hyper-ventilated," Antonio explained. Alfred's face pinched.

". . . Fine. She never really liked to talk about him, even when they were dating. The night she broke up with him they had gone on a date to celebrate their six-month anniversary. Around ten that night I got a call from Lovina. She said that He had gotten shit-faced and passed out on her couch. She wanted me and Matthew to help her drag him home." Alfred paused and clenched his hands into fists. "I could tell on the phone that she was really shook up, so Mattie and I hurried as fast as we could. Feli had gone out to see a movie with Feliks, so we were worried. Lovina was scared, and when we showed up her hair was a mess, she was wearing a different shirt than earlier at school, and she looked like she had been crying. She kept saying that nothing had happened, but there were a couple bruises and the living room was a mess. She refused to say anything, so the three of us got him home and Lovina left a note breaking it off with him. Mattie took Lovina into another room for a minute and I stomped the little . . . Anyway, after that Lovina's been afraid of him, and he refused to let go. He had always been possessive, but it just got worse after she broke it off with him."

Antonio was speechless, though after a minute or so he thanked Alfred for telling him, and went to rejoin his friends before they missed him. Gilbert was behind the wheel, tapping a cadence into it restlessly. When Antonio climbed in and took Lovina's hand instinctively, Gilbert turned.

"Finally! The Awesome was about to leave you! What the hell took so long?"

Antonio smiled. "Sorry, I was tearing apart Arthur's living room when I realized that my wallet was in my back pocket instead of the front!" He smiled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Apparently the Bad Friends could tell that something was off, because Gilbert frowned slightly and Francis mouthed 'later' before turning around to face the front. To his relief, the younger three didn't seem to notice. Lovina and Ludwig were listening to Felicia bounce in her seat while rehashing the movie and complimenting Francis' cross-dressing.

"Ve~ you're a lot cuter than me!"

Francis laughed and his face pinched. "Oh, I highly doubt that, Mon Cheri."


	8. when it hits the fan

**(A/N: wow guys, remember when I said that I wouldn't take so long to update next time? Trolololol.**

**Jk, but seriously, turns out I'm a liar, liar, pants on fire. Mai bad. Let's see, some notes on this chapter . . . about the time line, I'm sure many of you have noticed that Friday was so happy to be around it came back (so two Fridays). This had an effect on the space/time continuum, so Monday gave Tuesday a miss completely and will skip directly to Wednesday. Yeah . . . not sure how to explain that one. Also, I believe it's in here that I mention that Lovina also has the handy function as Antonio's Morality Pet. ((I learned that on TV tropes, srsly, it's a great site!)) the original chapter was MUCH longer ((and still in progress)) but I decided that everyone had waited enough. Happy early Christmas! Thanks abound to all of my glorious reviewers, and beta-sama who looked this over with me in about 15 minutes. She was surprised by the number of mistakes, mainly because I typed this up as a break in-between study sessions for my finals. It's amazing the things I come up with when I'm sleep deprived and trying to read my equally sloppy hand writing. But I hope you all enjoy this!)**

Lovina could barely drag herself out of the Fran-van on Monday. She _hated_ Mondays, almost as much as Garfield! To make matters worse, when she joined her sister and Ludwig in the line queuing reluctantly for the front door, there was a sudden silence and a lot of people stared- no, glared at them.

Lovina glared back suspiciously, but no one said anything until the Bad Friends Trio joined them after parking the van. Then the muttering started.

Before they could pick out what was being said and face their accusers, the door cleared and everyone started shuffling into the school as one. Then a boy shoved past the twins, hitting them in the shoulders. "Stupid dagos." He said loud enough for them to hear.

"What did you just call us?" Lovina growled, but the boy didn't turn again.

"What happened?" Ludwig was concerned, checking Felicia out to see if she had bruises.

"Ve~ I don't really get why, but that boy pushed us and called us" her voice dropped lower "Dagos."

Francis put a small determined smile on his face. "Try to forget about it, let's go on inside." Gilbert and Antonio were fuming as the followed the younger bunch inside. They didn't get more than twenty feet before a group of boys sneered and pointed at Ludwig. He didn't acknowledge them until they stood and gave the Nazi salute, right hand extended in front of them. "How's the third Reich going?" Ludwig's back stiffened, and his hands clenched into fists. Lovina watched him anxiously but he refused to react. On the other hand, Antonio and Francis had to physically hold Gilbert back. He was straining against them, cursing at the boys in a mixture of German and English. The cowards ran away when it looked like Gilbert might succeed in getting loose.

"My great-granddad died in the holocaust, you-" it took frantic whispering by his friends to return to a somewhat normal noise level before any teachers came to investigate.

After that, they managed to get to the band room without major incident. Lovina sighed; she had been expecting something like this after last night's news report.

They had been sitting in the living room with Ger-san while he watched this news. None of the teenagers were paying a lot of attention until the announcer on the little outlet station for local news paused, reading slightly ahead in the teleprompter. She had the squint of someone who needed glasses or contacts, and Lovina thought that it didn't flatter her stiff bottle-blonde hair (those mousy brown roots were just tacky) or her orange spray-on tan.

"It seems that the famous Singer/Actor Apollo has chosen the high school that will represent America in his international music festival. World Series High School, along with selected members from nearby White Valley High School and St. Wisteria's Academy will travel to Costa Rica in a few months' time, provided they can raise the appropriate amount of funding." The camera switched to one outside the high school while the news reporter commented that all of the band kids seemed to be from different Nationalities. This was explained away because when the city was built, immigrants were strongly encouraged to move there with their families to work in the factories and things. The reporter showed anger that these 'non-Americans' were being allowed to represent America. And according to the reporter on the street, people were already signing petitions and organizing to stop this 'injustice'.

Ger-san turned off the television and told them not to worry about it. Felicia obliged, though the rest of them couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Lovina felt that she should have guessed that the kids at school would pick their nationalities as an excuse for why they shouldn't be allowed to go on the trip. Most of the others were already there, and Lovina frowned, seeing Yao and Kiku trying to get egg shell fragments out of Mei's hair while Leon tried to distract her and make her stop crying ('why did you have to drag me away before I could get them back?!' she asked, her voice coming out somewhat shriller than usual)

Just as she was almost close enough to see if she could help, Kim-Ly shoved her way over and said something about taking Mei to the girl's locker room in the gym and helping her wash it out there. Lovina and Natalia agreed to come too, since it was mutually decided that no one should go anywhere alone. The girl's locker room was probably safer than the bathrooms because there was a door connecting the band room and the gym, and it was much more likely to be empty before school than any of the girls' bathrooms.

As they expected, it was a clear shot from the band room to the locker room, and no one was inside. Good thing, Lovina reflected, that there wasn't a first period gym class, or else there probably would have been at least a couple of girls changing and getting ready.

Kim-Ly took charge, ordering Natalia to watch the door while she took Mei under the shower while getting Lovina to be her assistant (Mei had very long hair, after all).

"Are all of the plans for Eva's birthday finished?" Kim-Ly asked brusquely, keeping Mei's mind occupied.

"Yeah, Vash and his parents made Eva stay home today until the fuss dies down, so during band, or however long we can stay in the band room, we'll iron out who's bringing what. I think the Bad Friends were talking about playing a song for her." Trivial gossip got Mei's mind off of her hair, and once it was clean and dry, they returned to the band room. Katyusha (as the only senior girl, and thus the mother hen/ big sis figure) swooped on them with tears in her eyes and proceeded to comfort all of them.

It felt weird, and it was hard to breathe while being smothered in her chest, so Lovina slipped away when Katyusha wasn't looking and found her sister deep in conversation with Ludwig and Kiku. None of them would have been particularly happy to see her so Lovina poked her head into Mr. Holland's office where she heard Antonio and the rest of the seniors having a conversation. Mr. Holland was also there on the phone with someone, so the Italian girl was going to leave before anyone noticed her but Antonio saw her and broke into a big grin.

"Lovi~! Come in!" Mr. Holland rolled his eyes at Antonio for inviting someone into _his_ office, but no one else seemed to mind. Slowly she entered, planning on perching on the edge of Holland's desk since all of the chairs were occupied, but Antonio caught her and pulled Lovina onto his lap. She grumbled and shifted uncomfortably, elbowing Antonio in the process, but eventually she leaned back on him, intending to squash him with her weight. The Spaniard didn't mind at all, the others could see. In fact, his smile grew genuine and spread wider across his face.

It seemed like some of the juniors were there too, and the movers and shakers of the music nerds were talking seriously about how to react to the news reports and racism.

"-but I tuned back later, and they _said_ that they would be 'investigating' what happened. That means they'll try to shame Apollo into picking another band." Lars was saying. The others muttered until Mr. Holland shushed them, then Gilbert continued in a low voice.

"Not to mention sending film crews over to get footage of us, and the other kids protesting, I mean, they still sometimes talk about the president's birth certificate." Lovina bit her lip, and Antonio wrapped her arms around her from behind, loosely holding her in place. She squirmed a little, not liking being held down in one place, but his arms were loose, so she only grumbled and tried not to think about how warm he was, or how nice he smelled at the moment (seriously, did he bring his own soap or something, because none of the other people at Ger-san's house smelled as nice as he did. Not that Lovina _cared_ what he smelled like or anything, because that was just creepy)

"Well, they probably won't be here for a couple of days, right? So we have time to plan. . ." But plan what? Lovina thought. Mathias cut in.

"But they'll have to edit and process the footage and junk before they can show it, so I'd bet on them coming today or tomorrow." Mr. Holland thanked whoever he was talking to and hung up.

"That was the principal. Get in the main room." There was a dark gleam of fury in Jethrow Holland's eyes, and even Lovina could tell he was maybe ten seconds away from exploding. It took them five of those seconds to jump into the desks and for Berwald to order the others to do the same.

No one complained, though Lovina saw Kim-Ly look at the door once or twice, expecting someone to come in possibly. She checked the clock on the wall, and furrowed her eyebrows, worried about something or another.

Standing in front of the students, Mr. Holland's rage seemed to leave him, leaving a tired, sad man in his place.

"I was just on the phone with the principal. He was calling from the hospital." Mr. Holland swallowed.

"This morning Kavi was hit in the head with a rock while waiting at his bus-stop with a few others. They _claim_ that the rock was hit by a tire and flew up to hit him." His face clearly expressed his doubt with their story.

"The doctors said that he'd probably be fine but they want to run a few tests to be on the safe side."

Lovina shyly glanced at Kim-Ly. Her face was frozen for a few seconds in shock, before her usual mask of indifference came back. To be fair, the entire band was in shock.

"Kavi is the nicest person ever! Why would someone throw a rock at _him ?!" _Mathias demanded, with the others backing him up.

According to the others they had never heard Kavi said a bad thing about anyone, or even raise his voice. It was virtually inconceivable that someone would try to hurt Kavi when there were so many other, more unpleasant people in the music cult. Vash muttered that he was right to keep Eva home today.

"Anyway, this morning we'll make a giant get-well-soon card for him and after practice I'll drive it over to him." Mr. Holland looked like he was going to continue with something when his phone rang again. Thinking that it might be an update about Kavi, he hurried back into the office.

Taking advantage of the awkward pause, Lisse and Angelique announced that they were going to pass around a list and everybody had to write what they were going to bring for Eva's birthday party. It seemed like weird timing to Lovina, but when the list made it to her, she glanced at what everyone else had written and signed herself up to bring napkins.

The Bad Touch ran a list of songs by Vash. They were hoping to play at least one song for Eva on her birthday. They didn't include any that had bad words, or seemed overly suggestive to them, but Vash vetoed them all except for one song- What makes you beautiful by One Direction. They weren't thrilled with his choice, but it did fit Eva, and if he thought she would like it then that was all that mattered. Granted, Vash had almost vetoed that song as well.

"What's that line supposed to mean? 'The way you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed'?"

Gilbert sighed. They had been suggesting songs for the better part of the time they had before classes started, and Vash had found a problem with all of them. "It mean's emotionally! God, why do you think everything we suggest is perverted?!"

"Because I know you three!" Vash spat back.

"Let's just calm down for a second, you two." Francis cut in before the two boys could come to blows. "Vash, there are only a certain number of songs that we can perform that are. . . teeny-bopper." Francis shuddered a little at having to stoop to perform a song of that caliber. "Gilbert, Vash just has Eva's best interests at heart. Both of you are going to have to make a few concessions."

The two boys grumbled, before agreeing that that would be the best compromise. Antonio suggested leaving out that line and substituting a guitar break that he could improvise but was shot down by double glares from both Vash and Gilbert.

Mr. Holland finally left his office a little after all of the plans had been finalized regarding Eva's birthday surprise. He seemed to be in a slightly better mood, so everyone relaxed. Mr. Holland gestured from Berwald to come, then handed him a printed sheet.

"Berwald, someone sent me computer directions."

"Right." Berwald immediately pulled up the directions and started following them, knowing that Jethrow Holland was approximately twenty years behind the times in regard to technology. Mr. Holland continued. "I just got off the phone with the principal. In light of . . . events, I'm keeping you all here this morning."

All of the band students perked up. That was great! Just then, the first bell rang, telling the other students to get to class. It turned out that that morning the other students would be made to go to an assembly about acceptance and how racism was bad. Mr. Holland was also in contact with Wisty's and World Series, and Berwald was in the process of projecting a three-way Skype conversation with them on the wall. It seemed that they were having their own share of problems.

Mr. Holland asked about how they were doing, and it turned out that they were also allowed to hang in the band room as well. All of the schools seemed to be whipped into a frightening display of racism, which coupled with the majority of students' ethnocentrism, made it un-safe for the music students to be around them until the faculty managed to calm them down.

"Arthur? What on earth happened to your uniform?" Francis asked. To Lovina's mild surprise, he even sounded mildly concerned. On the St. Wisty's view screen . . . wow, she needed to stop watching Star Trek with Alfred. Anyway, Arthur straightened his outfit the best he could. While ignoring his brother's snickering.

"He was thrown into a dumpster." Patrick confided. His uniform wasn't pristine, Lovina noticed, it looked like some liquid had been thrown onto it then oddly dried, making it largely somewhat off color and stained.

"Yes, and some idiot threw alcohol on Patrick." Arthur added testily.

Patrick nodded solemnly. "Waste of a perfectly good brew."

Alfred jumped into the conversation. "People have been picking fights with us all day!" Lovina was mildly amused to see Arthur and Francis both flip out over Alfred. Though he seemed like he was in his regular high spirits, his outfit was a little disheveled and he had a brilliant black eye blooming.

"What the- what happened to you?"

"Have you seen the nurse?" they talked over each other, and Mr. Holland and the St. Wisteria band director had to quiet them both down.

"Like I said, people have been picking fights all day. It's not like I could let anything happen to Mattie, and they all threw the first punch!" he added defensively.

Lovina wanted to groan. Alfred never backed down, and if someone pushed him, he'd push right back. Not to mention, only a suicidal person picked on Matthew when his brother was around. Even though he was absurdly strong, Lovina and Matthew were always afraid that one day Alfred's mouth would write a check that his butt couldn't cash. Apparently Francis and Arthur felt the same way.

"Jeez" Alfred groaned after a few minutes of scolding "I get it, okay _**mom**_?"

"Wait," Francis asked, distracted. "Which one of us is the mom?"

Alfred blinked. He thought it was obvious. "You both are."

Arthur looked like he was about to say something back when Feliks, from the World Series side, elbowed Alfred out of the way. "Ohmigod! Felicia! You won't believe what people are doing over here!" his eyes were a little shiny and it looked like someone had thrown point on his pretty blouse.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, the three bands corroborated and told each other what had happened. Then, probably to distract them, Mr. Holland started a discussion about fundraising and how much each person would have to raise. After a while, Lovina got bored so she borrowed Francis' laptop to check her e-mail.

Normally Mr. Holland would have stopped her, but who was he kidding? Like anyone expected order form any of the bands today? So Lovina pulled up her web browser without comment and steadfastly deleted the spam in her in-box (well most of it, she would get back on later and set down to the arduous task of deleting any and all messages from That Guy when there wasn't anyone to look over her shoulder and question them) mentally composing an e-mail to Nonno, informing him of the situation and asking him to come home- for Felicia, of course. It wasn't like she could change e-mail addresses to throw off That Guy, since this was the only one that Nonno replied to, giving them a vague excuse about the high possibility of identity theft on the internet when Felicia had sent him a message from her school e-mail account once. Bored, she weeded through most of That Guys e-mails, sending them to the spam folder to wait for her to delete them.

Then she saw that Romulus had already sent her an e-mail! She elbowed Felicia who drug her desk closer.

Their e-mail sat there invitingly, waiting for them to open it. The two misplaced sisters read it slowly.

_My dearest grand-babies,_

_I've been busy as always, so I'm afraid I only just found out about you going to live with Ger-san and his boys! How luck! I wish I had the time to come live with him too~ Ah, I wish I had the time even visit Ger-san! But I can't at the moment, so I need the two of you to behave for Ger-san. I'm also sending some souvenirs. The other day I was in a bazaar, and a helpful vendor was selling the swishy sundresses that you like, Felicia, so I made sure to pick a couple up for you and your sister. Mail's a bit iffy here, but you should get them sometime soon. I'm going to be gone longer than I thought._

_With all the love in the world,_

_Your Nonno_

Lovina felt very cold, and out of the corner of her eye she saw tears run down her sister's face. The room suddenly seemed bigger and brighter than before, and it was harder to get oxygen. Gilbert and Ludwig were asking what was wrong and Francis and Antonio gently pulled the laptop away and read the e-mail. Other people were asking what was wrong, and Lovina saw Feli clinging to Ludwig and crying that she didn't want a souvenir, she just wanted Nonno back.

Mr. Holland made a gesture to the Bad Friends and they helped the Vargas sisters into his office.

"What happened?" students didn't normally burst into tears in his classroom until finals came around, so Mr. Holland was unnerved seeing the twins in that state. No one thought to close the door, so everyone (including those at White Valley and St. Wisteria's) could hear.

Lovina was extremely reluctant to involve someone outside the family, but Felicia was in a state (along with Lovina who apparently could no longer breathe deeply or speak at the moment) and the Bad Friends were conditioned to tell Mr. Holland everything, so they spilled the entire story that they had been able to piece together.

". . . So their Opa said that he was going to be away for longer than he thought." Gilbert concluded. (When did he read the email, Lovina wondered)

"Huh." Mr. Holland satisfied it wasn't a case of bullying, sent the Bad friends, Ludwig, and Lovina back to the main room. Felicia, who was still crying, was left in the office to try and calm down.

Thankfully, it appeared to Lovina that no one form the other schools had noticed the come apart, the student conductors were trying to organize 'ice breaking' games.

School passed by, and once it was over, Mr. Holland had them move outside to wait for the buses from the other schools. "We will not hide from the cameras, as though we're guilty of something. There will probably be red-neck idiots heckling. I need for all of you to keep calm and be the bigger person. You're better than any of them. None of them can make _anything_ but I've seen and heard every single one of you make music. That's something you all can hold your heads up proudly about."

"I dunno, Jethrow. It feels like we'd be egging them on purposefully, practicing outside." Lars pointed out, glancing at his sister. It was all very well and good to not back down, but there was a difference between that and purposefully putting the underclassmen in the line of fire.

"No. The only way to head this thing off and to keep control is to meet them head on and show them that we are not afraid."

That was all well and good for _him_ Lovina thought, since he didn't have to watch people yell insults at his little sister. But everyone else seemed to draw heart from his little speech, and with that, the World Series music department exited the building and walked to the space of the sidewalk where the buses dropped students off. As predicted, there were students protesting and to Lovina's mild surprise, the local news outlet van was parked across the street and Lovina could see the sun reflecting off of the camera lens. She shot a glare in their direction and tried to keep herself between their fellow students protesting and Felicia. It wasn't the easiest of tasks since Ludwig seemed to be trying the same thing, and Antonio was trying to do the same thing with her.

Although it was kind of nice to have his hand wrapped securely around hers. Especially when he didn't protest her squeezing it every time someone yelled at them.

"Americans for America!"

"Go home terrorists!"

It was ugly standing there, waiting for the others to get there while people Lovina had sat next to in class yesterday yelled abuse at her.

No. Not her. None of them were yelling at people specifically. They were just protesting the band and choir going in general. The buses eventually pulled up, newly painted and fresh from St. Wisty's and beat up from White Valley, with the brakes squeaking ominously. (To her mild amusement, some people backed up nervously, unsure if the bus would be able to fully stop. Two people, she noticed out of the corner of her eyes, dropped their signs and backed up into the people behind them.)

The news van's engine turned on and they pulled into the school lot as the kids from the other schools were getting off.

"Do any of you want to respond to statements from the senator demanding to see your green-cards?" the reporter (coincidentally the same one from the night before) shoved the microphone into Lovina's face while the camera man shifted Antonio out of the way.

Lovina blinked once then smoothed her face into a beatific smile. She rambled off a quick sentence in Italian, knowing that the reporter, and most likely most of the viewers watching, wouldn't be able to understand what she said.

"Ve~!" Felicia covered her ears in shock at what her sister said.

"Lovina! Nonno told us not to use those words, even if it is in Italian!" Feli gasped, letting the others know that Lovina had just said something rude.

By now, Mr. Holland was sheparding them inside. Alfred saw one of the signs saying 'Americans for America!' and stopped angrily.

"Hey! Everybody around here's been saying that, and I want you to know- I AM AMERICAN! For the love of god, I was born in the Sacred Heart hospital down the street!" Alfred was probably going to continue with his tirade when Arthur and Francis grabbed him by the elbows and pulled him along. As they walked back into the school, Feliks pulled on Lovina's arm.

"Like, do you think that totes shady guy over there is _That Guy_?" the Italian teenager almost gave herself whiplash, turning as fast as she could to confirm and then try (too late) to hide from his sight.

"What's wrong?" Mei and Natalia noticed that something was wrong with their new friend.

"Oh, um . .." she stood on Felik's foot to keep him from blowing the secret. To her mortification, people were starting to pick up on Lovina's impending panic attack, and Antonio suddenly moving to Lovina's other side, acting like he was trying to block her from someone's sight.

"Good Lord, Antonio. I haven't seen you make that face in three years." Arthur said incredulously. Alfred and Matthew saw what Antonio was looking at and frowned together.

"Oh. That's cause he just saw Lovina's creeper ex-boyfriend." Alfred said, thankfully not loudly enough that anyone outside the pack of people of the music departments could hear.

"Al." Matthew began, trying to warn his half-brother before being cut off.

"What? C'mon Mattie, That Guy is the entire reason why Antonio's pretending to be her boyfriend!"

"Alfred, I swear to God, if you don't shut up right now, I'll never forgive you." Lovina warned through gritted teeth, but it was too late. Everyone around them had heard him.

Mr. Holland shushed them and they were sheparded into the music suite, avoiding protesters and the news team. Thankfully, Mr. Holland didn't give them time to grill Lovina and Antonio for withholding information, since he jumped into an explanation of what had happened to Kavi. No one cared about soap-opera love schemes where there were more important things to keep their attention, like constructing the world's largest get-well card out of huge sheets of paper and having everyone sign it.

To Lovina's mild amusement, Kim-Ly was the last to sign, hovering on a corner of the card, blushing, going to write something before thinking better of it and pulling away. After everybody had already finished and were trying to figure out the specifics of the incident that landed Kavi in the hospital in the first place, Kim-Ly hesitantly wrote something in Vietnamese.

"So let me get this straight." Alfred said, frowning at what he had just heard. "Kavi was just standing at a bus stop when these rednecks threw a rock at him."

"Knowing Kavi, they were probably trying to pick a fight, and he was just smiling, trying to get everyone to get along. Of course, those idiots are saying that Kavi was hit by a rock some car kicked up." Francis said, explaining the situation to Alfred and Matthew.

"After practice, Holland's going to deliver the card, and most of us are going to visit." Gilbert added. The North American brothers agreed that they would also like to come and meet this Kavi person. Lovina was about to join in when she was suddenly pulled away by Toris, Feliks, and Natalia.

"Like, what's going on? You told us that you were dating Antonio!" Feliks began, only to be cut off by Natalia.

"Forget that, who was that guy watching you?" other people came over too, demanding to be told what exactly was going on. Somehow sensing her distress, Antonio came over to help her explain.

"- and so Lovinita is my fake (for now) girlfriend." He said to Arthur and Sadiq.

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Lovina demanded, whipping her head from where she had been explaining to the girls.

"Nothing, Lovi~ and so that's how it happened." Lovina frowned suspiciously before reluctantly returning to the conversation the girls were dragging her into.

"C'mon, Carriedo-"

"Fernandez-Carriedo." Antonio insisted, cutting off Arthur.

"Whatever. But seriously-" both of them looked over at Lovina who was deep red with embarrassment, fending off rapid-fire questions from the girls.

"Are you going to try to get with her?"

Antonio looked over at Lovina once more. "Yes. It's going to take a lot of patience, though. She seems determined to never be in a relationship again." It made sense, considering That Guy had been her first boyfriend, and so her experiences with him were the only ones she had to judge with.

"And, according to her sister, Lovi's bi, so I can't really relax when I see that." Antonio gestured to Femke and Mei who were cheering Lovina up.

"Right. Knowing how you broke up with Femke, she might try to drive a wedge in-between you and Lovina." Arthur pointed out, making Antonio shake his head.

"No way! Femke and I sorted everything out! We're friends again!" There was no way Femke would do something so petty, was there?

Fortunately before Antonio could dwell too long on that thought, Jethrow called them all to attention to start rehearsal. He scolded them, insisting that they had to start taking their songs seriously. If they weren't serious from the get go then it would show when they made it to Costa Rica. After a while, Antonio zoned out, and out of the corner of his eyes he caught Lukas secretly filming the speech and the other band members with a small camera. Confused, Antonio subtly threw a paper wad at Matthias who was next to Lukas. Antonio managed to communicate his question with looks and gestures, and Matthias wrote a note and threw it at Antonio's face when Mr. Holland was gesturing to the flute section for something or another.

The note explained how Lukas had a YouTube channel and he was planning on posting a lot of videos about the band, to try and humanize them and raise support. That sounded like a good idea to Antonio. If they could show people that they were actual people with talent instead of vague-faceless foreigners, that could help ease their way so that way Lovina wouldn't have any more cameras stuffed in her pretty face.

Antonio could see that she was uncomfortable with all of the attention. The actual playing part of practice seemed to go by quickly, and when it was time to leave, Antonio pulled Francis aside and demanded to see his laptop, because he wanted to see Lukas' YouTube channel. Francis called over Gilbert and the three of them turned the computer on.

It was still on Lovina's web-inbox, so Gilbert was about to exit when Francis stopped his hand, having seen something. There were about thirty-five unopened messages from the same person, and an unusually high number in the spam folder. Glancing to find the location of the Italian twins (by the instrument storage room, Feli hanging off of Ludwig, and Lovina arguing with the German boy) the Bad Friends Trio decided it was safe and opened the latest e-mail. Skimming over it, the three boys discovered three things. The e-mail came from That Guy, he was more obsessed than any of them had guessed, and the three of them were seriously considering beating the living shit out of him- even Francis who by far was the least violent of them.

"Is that supposed to be from the ex?" Lars asked, looking over Gilbert's shoulder.

Hastily, Antonio closed the laptop before anyone else could see it. "You won't tell her, will you?'

"What, that the three of you were reading her e-mail without her permission? Maybe." Lars grinned for a moment before frowning. "We're not just going to let this creeper terrorize one of the freshmen, are we?"

"No, but for the moment we're at an impasse. We can't exactly go around knocking heads in with all of these news cameras and protestors in our faces. The important thing is that we can keep Lovi safe, since That Guy also wouldn't try anything while we're all under the microscope like this." Antonio explained.

"Don't worry. The Bastard will get his just desserts soon enough." Gilbert swore. Lars nodded and went off to join his sister who was trying to help organize a car pool to go visit Kavi in the hospital. Lars pulled Lovina aside and murmured something to her, both of them turning to look at the three boys once.

"Hey!" Lovina stomped over. Antonio nervously glanced at the computer, sure that the three of them were caught.

"What's up?" Francis asked, since he was the best liar in the group.

"Lars was wanting to know if you were going to visit Kavi, and how many people can fit in the Fran-van." Damn it, now Lovina was using that stupid name for the rape-van look alike. For some reason the Bad friends seemed nervous. Were they not planning on going? They seemed to relax though, and assured Lovina that they were going to visit Kavi, and that they could fit ten or so people in the Fran-van since they didn't have their instruments with them. It bothered Lovina a little that Francis knew exactly how many people he could fit in the back of his van without getting pulled over by the cops. Alfred, Matthew, Arthur, and Vash decided to ride in the van, and the entire ride to the hospital was tense, since no one could agree on what radio station to listen to after Arthur took the Bad Friends Boy Band CD out, snarking at Francis for being too narcissistic.

By the time the Fran-van pulled into a parking space, a steady migraine was pounding in Lovina's head. She was feeling less than charitable towards the others so she sped up to join Mei and Natalia who were with Kim-Ly in the gift store, with most of the other people, trying to pick out something for Kavi. Mr. Holland shooed most of them out after taking a couple of dollars from each of them and he picked out a gift basket with flowers. Lovina caught Mei whispering something to Kim-Ly who answered back shortly and ducked back inside the gift shop.

Lovina felt a little silly following the crowd of people trying to fit into Kavi's hospital room, but Antonio had a firm grip on her elbow, helping Lovina get through people. She spotted Lukas with a small video camera, but ignored him. If he wanted to make a home movie about crowded hallways, that was his problem. Inside, Kavi sat up in his bed, looking the same as the last time Lovina had seen him except he had a bandage wrapped around his head. Kavi was beaming from ear to ear.

"Wow. . . did everybody come?"

"Of course!" Mr. Holland pulled out the get well card, unrolling it with a flourish. Kavi's smile reminded Lovina a little bit of Antonio's it was so bright when he read the messages everyone had written for him.

"I don't know what to say!"

Gilbert slid to the side of Kavi's bed. "Did you see the Mook who did it?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Oh _please_ don't tell me that you're starting the Bad Touch again."

"The bad what?" Felicia asked curiously. "I thought their band was the bad friends." Antonio laughed nervously, squeezing Lovina's hand guiltily.

"Before we got into band freshman year, the three of us went through a bad phase."

Lovina pulled her hand away. "And what exactly did you three _do_ during this 'bad phase'?"

"Come now, Cheri, aren't we all here to visit Kavi?" Francis asked a little desperately.

Lovina's eyes narrowed. "Sure. I'll let someone else in." she exited the hospital room, ignoring Mr. Holland rolling his eyes and Antonio calling for her. She didn't like the insinuation Arthur made about the three of them being violent one bit.

Lovina really was a fool, being taken in by Antonio's smile, Gilbert's older brother protectiveness, and Francis' charm. That Guy had been kind too, at first. Well, Lovina would show all of them. Thankfully Lovina hadn't committed anything to three of them. She just had to pretend to date Antonio in public (thankfully the band was now aware of the act, so she didn't have to bother in front of them), live in the same house as Gilbert (she was sure she could avoid him easily), and accept the occasion ride from Francis . . . no! Lovina would just have to start taking public transportation again. If she kept her heart well-guarded, there was no way anyone could hurt her again. Lovina noticed that she had wandered to the vending machines. Looking at the old wrapped trashy food oddly made her stomach grumble, so with a sigh of defeat, Lovina fished around in her bag until she found her coin purse. There wasn't a lot of options that appealed to her, but eventually Lovina chose a bag of chips and some iced tea that would supposedly help her metabolism (Lovina would believe it when she saw it), and sat on the bench next to the machines.

Naturally the small bag of chips was mainly filled with air, so they were gone in about five seconds. With a sigh, Lovina leaned against the wall swigging a quarter of the tea. Could she really solve anything by running away and avoiding them?

"Lovi! There you are!" some of the tea almost escaped out of her nose, and the Italian girl started choking and gagging on the liquid. Frantically Antonio (of course it was him) dropped next to her on the bench, pulled her back away from the wall and started hitting it. "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you! I was just worried- you shouldn't be wandering off on your own." Antonio seemed apologetic, and when Lovina could breathe again she pushed his hand away.

"Stop! I'm fine!" she ignored his concerned puppy look and scooted away.

This was bad. Antonio could see it just from the look in her eyes. She had put her guard back up around the Spanish boy just when he was sure that he had coaxed her to lower it for a few seconds. Antonio sighed. It would take forever to undo this damage, though he knew exactly why she was scared and hurt. If he had been in her shoes, he'd be feeling the same way.

"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you about the Bad Touch, but there was never a good time to bring it up, and I didn't want to frighten you! I _swear_ to you Lovi, all of that is in the past."

Lovi looked him in the eyes. "What made you stop?" she asked, sounding like she was daring him to say something that she could believe. That had to be a good sign, right? If she was willing to hear him out, that meant she was at least giving him a chance, right?

"We were just angry punks looking for attention. The guidance counselor was the one who put us in band- something about calming us down. Jethrow didn't take any of our foolishness- you could pretty much say that he beat us into submission-" Antonio smirked seeing the look of surprise on cute Lovi's face. "Not really! He rehabilitated us. We used to be punks, but now we're proud loyal band cultists. People always used to say that music could heal and save peoples' souls. I never believed it, but now I guess we're living proof, right?" Antonio smiled brightly at Lovina before seeing that she still seemed nervous.

"I'm still really sorry for not telling you. It's just that it was so long ago, and I didn't think you'd react so strongly, and I never really thought you'd ever need to know." He paused, waiting for her to say something. She didn't so he continued on. "Are you scared of me?"

Lovina shrugged, looking away with a new blush on her face. "I dunno."

Antonio deflated. "Oh. Well, at least now you don't have to pretend in front of the band if you don't want to. Do you think we should figure out some way for you to dump me in public?"

This time Lovina turned to him again, fire in her eyes. "Hell no, asshole! You're not getting rid of me that easily." Antonio's heart swelled, despite the insult and he hugged Lovina to his chest. "Aww! So cu~te!" She turned redder than before.

"Let go of me! Get off me!" she struggled a little, so Antonio reluctantly released her, even though he could tell she wasn't being serious about her protests- Antonio would always do what she asked. Anything to make her see that he was different than That Guy (seriously, what the hell was his actual name? it was so confusing).

"Ch-chigi. why do you always have to be so touchy-feely?"

"Eh Heh, just part of my natural charm I suppose. Say, how much does that vending machine cost?" Antonio asked randomly, his ADD mind jumping from one subject to another.

"Too much." Lovina grumbled, glad they had stopped talking about uncomfortable topics like emotions and feelings.

"Aw, you're right." Antonio kissed her cheek and went to examine the machine, trying to judge if it was worth it or if he would rather just wait until they got home. It was Francis' turn to cook, after all, so it would definitely be good, but it would take him a long time to finish cooking and preparing it. Antonio liked Francis' cooking, though Lovi's was already his favorite, and Feli was also a very good cook. Now that he thought about it, he was getting spoiled; having Feli, Lovi, and now Francis cook for him . . . he'd have to make something good when it was his turn to make dinner. Actually, come to think of it, his turn to cook would be on Wednesday.

"Hey, Lovi, are you going to Eva's birthday sleepover?" He tilted his head to the side inquisitively, and Lovina absolutely wasn't reminded of one of Ludwig's dogs when they were begging with their eyes for a treat. And there was no way that she secretly thought it was cute. Glad those misunderstandings were settled.

"I was invited, wasn't I? Why wouldn't I go?"

"Aw, you're so cute when you blush! I was just curious, since it's my turn to cook Wednesday. I was gonna make something really tasty for you, but if you're going to the sleepover, I'll just have to try harder next time to make something you'll love~!"

Once again Lovina gave him that pretty bewildered look, like she thought that he was crazy. "Why are you being so nice to me? We've known each other for _maybe_ two weeks and in that time I arbitrarily decided to use you as my fake boyfriend and have been nothing but a prissy bitch to you." She narrowed her eyes accusingly at him, sure that he must have some kind of ulterior motive for still treating her well.

Lovi always asked the silliest questions. "Because I was serious when I asked you out when we first met. You're really talented and pretty. And even though you turned me down, I really like that we're getting to know each other better. You're really passionate, and I like that you always do your best and you're really protective of your little sister." Antonio stopped himself before he got so carried away singing Lovina's praises he forgot himself and went on for hours. Antonio also found that Lovina awakened all his protective instincts. He wasn't sure if he still had those after being in the Bad Touch, but it was like Lovina rekindled his humanity. He couldn't just leave her alone when she was frightened and sad like this when she was lonely and insecure. Lovina deserved to be happy, and Antonio wanted to be the one to erase the dark shadows that lingered around her.

It was still a little early to tell her all of that. Besides, Lovi's cute red face was right there in front of him, and Antonio couldn't help but lean in to kiss her forehead.

"Chigi! Stop _doing_ that! There's nobody around anyway!" Lovina rubbed the spot and muttered under her breath about how stupid Antonio was.

The Spanish teenager just grinned cheekily. "I know~ but I just wanted to kiss Lovi~" It would take a delicate hand and tact, but the time was right for Antonio to start his campaign to drop the 'fake'. As expected, Lovina just blushed and called Antonio a pervert. Antonio was about to answer back, recognizing the pattern of their flirting, when Gilbert and Francis suddenly showed up.

"Hey Lovina, have you calmed down yet?" Gilbert asked, getting in her personal space and edging Antonio away slightly. Lovina sputtered, surprised at seeing the other two so soon.

"Now, now, Gilbert, you ruined Antoine's moment." Francis grinned. It amused him to see Gilbert and Antonio dance around each other to get to Lovina.

"Yeah, that was the point." Gilbert said, looking back at Francis. The two of them were glad that Antonio had managed to calm down Lovina, though, and it was a very big success that she didn't seem afraid of either of them anymore. But that didn't mean that Gilbert would just let Antonio flirt with his cute little pseudo- adopted sister _all_ day. The Awesome had already given them ten minutes of privacy, and that was more than generous in Gil's book.

"Anyway, Antonio, you shouldn't spend so much time with Lovina anymore, since the band knows that it's fake now-" surprisingly, Lovina was the one to cut Gilbert off instead of Antonio which is what Gilbert had been expecting.

"That had nothing to do with you! I don't give a shit what the CPS or Ger-san says you'll never be my brother! You don't have _any_ say in who I do or do not spend my time with! Besides, That Guy shows up everywhere, and with all of this media attention on us, we can't afford to act anything less than stupidly lovey-dovey with each other!" Lovina shivered, imagining That Guy's reaction should he realize that they were deceiving him. It would be Apocalyptic. Now that she thought about it, it might be helpful that the Bad Friends were used to violence, since there was no way That Guy wouldn't try to do something to Antonio or his friends.

Antonio's ever-present smile dimmed when he watched Lovina mentally check out of the conversation. Her eyes grew a little darker and her hands started shaking, no longer seeing or hearing the Bad Friends in front of her.

Francis' eyes narrowed slightly and he draped his arm over her shoulder. The sudden contact seemed to snap her out of it. "What the f*ck do you think you're doing?" she snapped, jumped away from him.

"Oh? How sad, it looks like Antonio is the only one who can touch you." Francis teased. Right on cue Lovina turned tomato red.

"Of course he can! Antonio's my Fake boyfriend! It'd be suspicious if we never touched each other!" Francis smirked, about to joke about the kind of 'touching' the two of them should be doing when Ludwig and Felicia found them.

"_Bruder_! Did you let your phone die again? We need to go home." His gaze flickered between Felicia who was glued to his side and Lovina. "Now."

"Whoa, Luddy, what's up?"

"_Großvater_ just called. Another letter was left. He wanted us to come straight home." Lovina felt cold. If Ger-san was worried about whatever he had written enough to order them home, then it must have been bad. Lovina's hands clenched. Ludwig had looked at her sister, so That Guy had almost definitely threatened Felicia again. Lovina jumped almost a foot when she felt Antonio take her hand in his.

"We should go say goodbye to everyone before we leave." Antonio said, rubbing Lovina's white knuckles with his thumb, hoping to calm her down a little.

"We already explained the situation to Mr. Holland and told everyone that Nonno Beilschmidt wants us to come home." Felicia said, finally detaching from Ludwig to grab Lovina's other hand and drag her along the hallway and through the parking lot to the Fran-van.

It was a long tense drive to the Beilschmidt home. The others might have tried to talk to Lovina a few times, but she just shook her head, staring at the slightly warped reflections in the windows, feeling her anxieties and fears churn until she was sure that the was going to be sick.

When they finally pulled in, Lovina got out and walked past Ger-san without stopping. Maybe she had eaten something bad at school, but she could tell that she was about thirty seconds away from throwing up on Ger-san's clean floor. The old German man tried to say something, to touch her shoulder, but she dodged around him and took the first door on the right. The others followed a little indignantly, but Lovina slammed the door behind her, kneeled in front of the toilet and started heaving her guts out, wishing that Antonio and the others weren't hovering by the doorway waiting for her to come out. Felicia slid in silently for a moment before she came behind her and held her hair back, rubbing her back soothingly. It took everything Lovina had not to cry, but she sucked it up, not wanting to appear even more pathetic to Antonio and the rest. After lunch and breakfast came back up and Lovina finally stopped dry heaving, Felicia helped her cleanup and Ger-san wordlessly led them into the study. The bad friends and Ludwig were waiting for them there. Francis excused himself for a moment then came back in with a glass of water for Lovina.

With a deep breath, Ger-san began. "I don't want you going anywhere without one of the boys with you. Unfortunately that means you can't go to the Zwingli girl's sleepover."

Lovina wanted to argue. This was the first sleepover she had been invited to since coming to America. But on the other hand, if That Guy followed and took advantage while Antonio was away . . . she swallowed convulsively and nodded. No way would she ruin Eva's party.

"Good. I'm taking this letter to the police- why they haven't done something about this I'll never understand." Ger-san started to rise.

"Nepotism." Lovina's voice was a hoarse croak. "His father's high up in the food chain. That Guy can get away with murder, so long as he keeps it within city limits. We've tried telling them before. The officer on duty just commented about European types playing hard to get."

Gilbert's eyes flashed a darker red. "Did you at least get his name and badge number?"

"We'll deal with that later. For now, I'll see what I can do. I want all of you to stay here."


	9. home alone (ish)

**(A/N: not thrilled with this chapter, but when am I ever? Hetalia and Nyo!talia are both owned by Himuria-sensei.)**

Ger-san didn't come back until much later that night. He seemed surprised to see Gilbert, Antonio, and Lovina still up when he came in. Ludwig and Felicia had fallen asleep on the sofa. The German boy was slouched, resting his head on his elbow, seemingly having fallen asleep while trying to wait up for his grandfather. Felicia was curled into him, using Ludwig as a combination teddy bear and space heater.

"Opa! How did it go?" Gilbert asked, somewhat softly since Ludwig and Felicia just looked so cute curled up like that.

"I got things going in the right direction. I warned them that if I didn't see improvement in two weeks, I'd start the legal processes." The look on his face promised that if it came to that, Garen would sue them for everything they had. "For now, that's all I can do. Where are the others?" Garen shrugged off his jacket, feeling the long hours since he had last relaxed. If he recalled, it had been right when he returned from his office to pick up a few files that he had seen a broken window and Kitten holding what looked like a piece of a leather jacket in his mouth.

Now he was home again, and Garen just realized he never did bring those files back to the office like he said he would. Oh well, that was tomorrow's head ache.

"Francis' mom wanted him to go home (something about forgetting what his face looked like), so he left. Lud and Felicia fell asleep over there a few hours ago and we decided to leave them be. Lovina was this nervous ball of energy, and for a while we were afraid that she'd be sick again, but The Awesome managed to calm her down. Antonio took her into the kitchen, and whenever I left, he was trying to get her to eat something." Garen nodded distractedly, satisfied that all of them were accounted for (and that one of Gilbert's friends had finally gone home).

"And what were you doing?" Garen would need a nightcap after a day like today. Gilbert shrugged.

"Just securing the perimeter. I was feeling a little restless, I guess." Garen nodded again.

"It's going to be tough on you, but as the eldest brother, I'll be depending on you to take care of the others."

Gilbert nodded. He knew better than anyone what could happen to a precious younger sibling when you turned your back for even an instant.

Now that the talk was out of the way, the two of them went to the kitchen to check upon Antonio and Lovina. Gilbert intended on making a loud entrance to cock-block Antonio, but Garen went in first, ruining his entrance, and the scene in front of him was too cute (Gilbert would have to take pictures on his cell phone of them, along with the ones he had taken of Ludwig and Felicia sleeping together) to bother.

Lovina was perched on a stool by the counter, facing Antonio who was chattering with his back to her, making grilled cheese at the stove.

"-I know you said that you weren't hungry, but it's not healthy to sleep with an empty stomach. My mom always made grilled cheese for me when I couldn't sleep. It's great comfort food, especially with tomato soup, right?"

"Hey, 'Tonio? I don't think she cares very much." Gilbert chuckled.

"Hmm?" Antonio turned, not noticing that Gilbert and Garen had returned. They pointed to Lovina and Antonio smiled. The Italian girl had placed her head on her crossed arms and had apparently fallen asleep, lulled by Antonio's voice and the smell of comfort food.

"Yay!" he cheered softly. "I was wondering when she'd fall asleep."

"Does that mean no food?" Gilbert asked.

"Nah, I'm still hungry. I'll leave a couple sandwiches for Lovi, in case she wakes up, but we can eat the rest!" Garen sighed. It would take forever to move the younger kids to their rooms and make Gilbert and Antonio go to bed . . . though he wouldn't say no to a grilled cheese sandwich.

Lovina woke up the next morning tangled in the sheets with her unconscious younger sister who seemed determined to smother her to death. Once she managed to untangle herself and get out of her clingy little sister's grip, Lovina quickly pulled on the uniform and headed downstairs. To her relief, no one really mentioned yesterday while running around to get ready for school. Garen stopped them at the door, telling them that the Band Boosters were meeting that afternoon, and he would be there. He offered to take the younger three home after the meeting, and Felicia reminded him that she was going to Eva's birthday sleepover, though Ludwig and Lovina agreed, since the Bad Friends had to talk with their boss about playing original songs after practice.

It wasn't until they were half way to school that Lovina realized that she would have to explain to the girls about how she couldn't come to the sleepover. Antonio noticed her slump in the seat and guessed what she was upset about.

"Don't worry, Lovi. I'm sure that they'll understand. It's not your fault."

Lovina shuffled in her seat, displeased that Antonio was somehow now able to read her mind. "What do _you_ know, Tomato Bastard?" it came out a little sharper than Lovina meant it too, but Antonio didn't mind at all.

"Well, I've been in band with the girls for a while, so I'm pretty sure they'll understand. And Elizabeta lives close to Gilbert, so I'm sure she knows already. The two of them are closer than they like to admit."

It was suspicious to Lovina, but she let it slide. After all, she could be the bigger person sometimes and let Antonio win. They pulled into the lot and the girls were a little confused when the bad friends helped them out of the van.

Then they saw the other people glaring at them, and yesterday's events flashed back. "Ve~ I guess the assembly yesterday didn't really help, huh Ludwig?" the German boy nodded and took her hand protectively. They were sheparded into the band room where the others were just arriving or already waiting.

Mr. Holland was at the board, writing in large letters that they would all be expected to go to class. This bothered Vash, who had only let Eva come to school because he thought they would be staying in the band room again. Mr. Holland was trying to reason with him, that the whole point of school in the first place was to go to class and learn. Vash wasn't buying it, and Mr. Holland ended up confiscating his keys to prevent Vash from taking Eva home immediately.

While they were distracted with that, the girls pulled the Italians into Mr. Holland's office.

"Did you bring everything? We're all set to surprise Eva in choir, and Vash said that he already packed her bag for tonight!" Femke bounced up and down on the balls of her feet excited. Even Natalia had a slight smile on her face. Lovina felt a weight drop down into her belly.

"Ah, about that. . ." something caught in Lovina's throat and she couldn't speak. Thankfully the Bad Friends popped in.

"Sorry, Grand-père stepped in." Francis said, kissing Angelique and Lisse on the cheeks.

"What do you mean?" Angelique asked.

Gilbert spoke next. "Opa found a letter from Lovina's. . . Well, he basically said that she can't come to the sleepover." The girls seemed disappointed and embarrassed for Lovina, and she turned Antonio's favorite shade of red, unable to meet any of their eyes. To her everlasting shame, her eyes started to water without her permission.

Antonio pulled her into his chest, out of their sight. "Sorry, do you guys mind letting us have the room for a minute?" they agreed and filed out of the room, Felicia kissed her on the cheek, murmuring softly in Italian before pulling Ludwig out of the room. Gilbert patted her back.

"Francis and I'll go tell Jethrow about what happened." He said gruffly, not sure what to do when a girl cried. Lizzie never cried- okay, there was that one time she broke her arm doing a dare and showing off, but that didn't really count.

Finally Antonio and Lovina were alone. The Italian girl breathed out shakily and the Spaniard sat on Holland's desk, pulling her tighter into his chest. After breathing a few times to steady herself, Lovina said "It's not fair."

Antonio rested his head on hers and nodded, loving the way they fit against each other.

"I know you were looking forward to this. I promise you, mi novia, we'll get rid of him." He pulled away to kiss her forehead and look her in the eye. "You and Felicia are safe, you know that, right? No one in the band or choir would let anything happen. There's no need to cry."

He was about to wipe away the excess water when she swatted his hand away. "I'm not crying, asshole!" her voice was steadier and Antonio might have believed her, if he didn't see the tear-tracks on her cheeks. Her contrariness made Antonio smile.

"Then what's all this?' he asked, wiping at the gently. She jumped out of his reach and tried to wipe them away angrily.

"It's called sweat, dumb-ass! It's really hot in here! Stop laughing at me, damn you!"

"So you were sweating out of your eyes? Tan lindo~!" Antonio pulled Lovina into his arms and held her tightly. "Lovi~" he cooed, feeling so happy he momentarily forgot himself. She looked at him curiously, with his favorite blush on her cheeks. He tilted her head, lifting her chin until she was in the perfect position. Antonio leaned down before he knew what he was doing. He just wanted to kiss Lovina, because she was so cute, and Antonio wanted to make her feel better. Antonio was just centimeters away when Lovina pushed him away, making Antonio his hip on the side of Jethrow's desk.

He ignored the mild pain and kept his eyes on Lovi. She was staring into his eyes too, confusion whirling in a storm, with the tiniest undercurrent of want- so Antonio's advance hadn't been wholly unwanted. Antonio still felt bad, though. He hadn't planned on kissing Lovi on the mouth until they had dropped the 'fake'. Until then they _were_ technically only pretending to be in a relationship. So Antonio didn't feel right just kissing her on the mouth when he felt something that she didn't.

"P-pervert!" she stomped back out into the main room and Antonio waited a couple of beats before following her out and joining Gilbert and Francis. Pushing her too hard wouldn't make anything better, and would only drive her away. To his mild surprise, Lars was with them. He had overheard Gilbert and Francis explain the situation to Mr. Holland and he was apparently trying to organize a raiding party to go to White Valley and beat up That Guy ('but seriously, what the _hell_ is his actual name?') and Mr. Holland was putting his foot down.

"Be reasonable," Katyusha was pleading, "we can't just ditch school to go beat someone up."

"Besides, Cher, think of our media stalkers." Francis added soothingly. "The last thing any of us need is a report about violent foreigners assaulting a teenager. He _will_ be dealt with." His voice was soft but firm, and to Lovina's mild surprise, all of the seniors joined in, reassuring Lars that That Guy would get his just desserts- as soon as none of them were in the media spot-light. Lovina ducked away before they could see her and somehow turn this conversation even more awkward.

The bell rang soon after, and Lovina gathered her bagged lunch and hurried to her locker to get her things for first period before anyone could try to talk to her. That, she decided in the hall, was a mistake. It seemed like every person was staring-no, glaring at her, and she heard a low dissented murmur follow her down the halls. The assembly seemed to have warned everyone off of violence, but it didn't stop them from looking at her and gossiping, or trashing her locker, she found out.

It looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Her backpack was in shreds, still hanging from its hook, and the textbooks and notebooks had been graffiti'd and several pages had been torn out. Without looking around or letting anyone see an emotion on her face, Lovina selected the correct books for morning classes and carefully closed the door.

While she walked down the fully painted walls and under the lights that didn't flicker, Lovina couldn't help but think that in her 'ghetto school' of White Valley, no one would be able to vandalize a locker without at least two people narc'ing to the front office.

Mrs. Anne didn't treat Lovina or any of the music students differently, though most of the other teachers and students met them with a cold wall of silent hostility or were outright with their displeasure. Mrs. Anne saw her damaged book and nodded silently, apparently having expected something like that to have happened. Lovina wasn't the only one. All of the other band kids' things had been vandalized, and once they were all in the classroom, the teacher sent them to the front office together. This time, they were a fully united group, walking down the hall in a tight group.

Leon turned the corner and ran into an Asian boy with spikey hair. "Like, sorry."

The other boy just smiled. "It's fine." He walked away, listening to the music in his earphones.

"Who was that?" he asked Tyr who shrugged. "He was in my math class last year. I think his name was Kennedy, or something." Leon just shrugged. It was nice not to be yelled at for being a foreigner for a change.

Miss Greta was waiting in the main office for them. "Anne called up. It looks like someone got everyone's books." She shook her head angrily, and then seemed to calm herself down. "Did you guys hear yet? Jethrow asked Anne and I to come on the trip too, as chaperones! I can't wait! Oh, but you mustn't worry, we'll pay for our own way." Miss Greta giggled like a school girl while processing their damaged books and giving them new ones.

"Between you and me, I think you guys should keep the new books in the band room. There's a camera by the doorway, and Jethrow is there or in his office all day." They nodded, and she gave them all peppermints before sending them back to class. Lovina had noticed the large bowl of candies by her elbow when she registered for classes, but at the time she had just assumed that they were her own treat, or just there for decoration, or something.

It was a rough morning, getting through all of their classes, and Lovina felt sorry for Eva for having to go through all this on her birthday.

Eventually they were escorted by Vash and Ivan back to the band room for choir. Lovina kept glancing back at Eva. She didn't even have a clue about the surprise waiting for her, did she? At least this way no one dared bother with them in the halls. Only a mad man would pick a fight with Vash or Ivan. This, in retrospect, was probably why it was those two in particular who were escorting the underclassmen around. Natalia clung to her brother's arm, and Ivan grew paler while they walked around. Though, Lovina noticed, he never tried to pry her off the way he normally did when she clung to him.

The Italian girl half expected to see everyone jump out at them the second the group of freshmen entered the band room, but everything seemed normal. Mr. Holland pulled Eva inside is office, saying something about needing a quick word with her. Once the door to his office was shut, everyone leapt into action, hurrying around, throwing out food, drinks, decorations, and the Bad Friends were pulling their instruments out of the storage closet. Lovina pulled napkins out of her bag and put them next to Yao's paper plates.

Everything seemed to get set up quicker than they expected, and they were just standing around awkwardly, waiting for Eva to come out so they could scare her senseless.

"How's your morning been, Querida?" Antonio asked, coming close to her. Freezing, Lovina couldn't help but remember earlier that morning when she had been sure that Antonio was going to kiss her. Ducking away, Lovina couldn't look him in the eye when she mumbled something about it being fine.

Before Antonio could say anything to try and salvage the conversation, Eva came out of Mr. Holland's office, looking even more confused than when she went in.

"Surprise!" everyone yelled. Leon let off noise poppers that showered confetti everywhere. Eva squeaked and took a step back, clutching her heart. Kim-Ly at the piano cracked her knuckles before starting to play the birthday song. Everyone joined in, and Lovina felt the tight coil in her gut start to loosen. Sure everyone outside was against them, but in this room they could still feel good about making a girl's birthday special.

Mathias' goal of making Eva Vogel so happy she cried was met when Vash showed up with a cake and presented it to her with a flourish. While they were cutting the cake (no candles, because apparently the school board didn't approve of open flames in the building). The Bad Friends slunk away to collect their instruments without Eva noticing.

Antonio on guitar started, startling most of the others with the sudden riff, then Gilbert joined in with drums and singing. If Lovina hadn't seen the three of them complaining and belly-aching about the song, she never would have guessed that they didn't like it. There was something so un-cooly cool about how they didn't try to take themselves or the song as serious as the rest of their songs usually were. They made everyone smile and laugh, clapping and bouncing to the beat, joining in for the na na na's.

Even Lovina was smiling at that point, letting Felicia take her hands to dance. Her breath caught when Antonio took the slow part and he caught her eye, turning on her blush as easily as flipping a light-switch.

Sadly enough, the impromptu party couldn't last. Mr. Holland called a stop five minutes before the end of class and made them put the food up and start cleaning the room. Lovina carefully sealed Eva's smile away in her memory along with the music and laughter in her heart, since something told her that she would need the bright optimism they gave her to get through the day. As the suspected, the rest of the day was hard, with the only let-ups happening during lunch when the music kids huddled together and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong, and during band, when part two of Eva's party was held, and the girls revealed that all of them were going to Elizabeta's house that night for a sleepover and they had already packed her bag for her.

It was a little awkward when Lovina explained that she wouldn't be able to go, but Eva just nodded distractedly, somewhat overwhelmed by all of the attention. They ate leftovers from choir, finished the cake, and just when they started cleaning things up, Antonio, Francis, and Gilbert snuck away again.

Curious, Lovina followed them. surely they weren't going to play the same song again?

"Close the door!" Gilbert snapped, seeing her in the doorway to the instrument storage room. Antonio pulled her in and slid the door shut, quickly releasing Lovina once it was done. The Italian girl wasn't sure if he remembered the almost kiss from that morning or not. It probably hadn't meant anything to him, she concluded. Francis was on his cell phone, whispering to the other person.

"What are you three doing?"

"Throwing one more surprise in the name of music unity." Gilbert said, cutting off Antonio who had tried to speak first.

"Franny's on the phone with Arthur, who's texting Alfred to get the other schools in on this. This song wasn't on the list we gave Vash. He doesn't even know about this." Gilbert cackled, giving Antonio a chance to cut in.

"We're all going to sing the Birthday Song for Eva."

"Kim-Ly already did that."

"Not that birthday song. This is the one by the Beatles. It was Francis' idea. I think he just wants to impress Arthur, though." Antonio shrugged in a what-can-you-do kind of way.

"I'll show that tea-drinking hypocrite which one of us is more cultured." Francis muttered evilly as an aside. Okay. ... there was definitely some kind of history between those two, Lovina mused.

To her mild surprise, Lovina was shooed out after getting an 'important' job. She would go out to collect the other bands with the rest of the group and make sure none of them let Eva know anything was amiss. Then when they were thirty seconds out, Lovina was to text Gilbert discreetly so they could prep. "What am I supposed to text?" Lovina was doubtful. Couldn't Arthur do all of that?

"It doesn't matter. The signal is getting the text. Just press a random key or something." Gilbert just wanted her out of the room before she drew attention to them and the surprise was wasted. Before Lovina could argue, she was shoved out the door, and she reluctantly joined the others, heading back out to the bus stop to collect the others while ignoring the protesters and the news crews. It was somehow even uglier than yesterday, with more people there, including what looked like a couple of social clubs and church groups. Lovina scowled at the creeps, lightening up only a little bit when Felicia slid her hand into hers, and Ludwig tried to hurry them along, doing his best impression of a secret service agent.

Alfred bounced over, pulling Matthew with him, and pulled the Italian girls into a one-armed hug, whispering in Lovina's ear "Everyone from White Valley knows, so we're a go." When she pulled away, Arthur Kirkland caught her eye and nodded slightly. Lovina briefly wondered if anybody from World Series knew anything about the last surprise for Eva. Oh well, there was no way to tell them now without Eva or Vash learning about it.

When they got to the front doors, Lovina texted the letter 'a' to Gilbert, wondering how many spy movies the three of them had seen.

When the music group opened the door to the music suite, they found all the lights off. Somewhat confused, Berwald turned them back on. The music coincided with the light, and to Lovina's amusement, no one from World Series seemed to have been informed about this extra musical event. Even Mr. Holland didn't know, which meant, Lovina decided, that the Bad Friends just wanted to show off.

Mr. Holland let them finish the song (and even joined in with most people singing along) before pulling Antonio's and Francis' power cord out of the wall.

"That's enough. Everyone sit down." He gestured to the desks. Lukas has an idea for a project he wants to run by everyone." The Bad Friends laughed without remorse and sat along the wall since there weren't enough desks for everybody. Lovina didn't catch a desk, so she allowed herself to be pulled into Antonio's lap on the floor. "Just practice, _cariña_." He murmured in her ear, the combination of his breath tickling her ear, his Spanish lisp, and the careful accented emphasis on the endearment made her shiver, to her annoyance. She didn't want to let Antonio have that much power over her, but every time she thought that her feelings about him were under control he did something that made him impossible to ignore. The jerk.

Felicia followed her older sister's example and sat in Ludwig's lap, ve~ing happily. The German boy turned pink, but didn't try to make her move.

Once everyone was situated, Lukas was about to begin what looked like a presentation when the music door opened one again and Ger-san and the woman from CPS came in.

"Chigi! _Now_ where are you taking us?" it slipped out before Lovina could control her mouth, and Antonio's arms wrapped around her protectively, making Lovina feel like an oversized teddy-bear.

The woman- Isis, Lovina remembered, did a double take before smiling at Lovina and Felicia.

"I'm not here to 'take you away'. My son Gupta is in the St. Wisteria band." A boy that Lovina had never heard speak before waved solemnly at Lovina and she colored, remembering seeing a picture of him in her office and Ger-san saying that the band boosters would be having a meeting. "Now I feel awkward." Lovina muttered, squirming on Antonio's lap and trying to sink lower and bee less visible. Ger-san did a quick head-count, and once he was satisfied that all of his charges were accounted for, Ger-san nodded and leaned against the wall, letting other parents come in. once everyone was in the room, Mr. Holland reiterated that Lukas had an idea for a project that he wanted to share with every-body.

Lukas pulled up a web-site and used the projector to make sure that everyone could see it, then waited and looked around. Once he was sure that he wouldn't be interrupted again by anyone coming and going, Lukas began.

"As some of you know, I started a blog a few months ago. Since the press has started in, I noticed that they've only been giving one side of the story regarding our eligibility to go on The Trip. I want to tell _our_ side.

"By shooting videos of the band and making interviews, I want to humanize us. Two days ago I announced my hopeful project on my blog and the response has been mostly positive. A few people have even posted suggestions for videos we could do." Lovina wondered if Lukas was always this normal of if he was just playing it up for the parents. He was, but she wouldn't realize that for a while, and it would take the teenage girl even longer after that to get used to it.

The Norwegian boy pulled up the comment and suggestion box. A few of the comments suggested that the band should jump off of a bridge, but the majority seemed to be positive, to Lovina's surprise.

_Good for you! You guys should fight back against News Channel Sucks! You guys need to do a Random Act of Culture!_ There was a YouTube link attached, and Lukas explained that the link would be forwarded to them and the video was of a flash mob in a train station and another in a food court (though the second video was more of a flash choir, as they sung their music instead of dancing to it).

_I love your video diary of the group! Who's the cute guy with the blond hair? (Less than three)_

"As you can see, I've had some success with the first few videos. If everyone agrees with it, I'd like to try doing an interview series. A 'get to know team USA' kind of thing. Maybe get some footage of us fundraising and practicing. Who knows? We could even film some of the publicity stunts to put on my blog. I know Alfred made some movies. I could post teaser trailers or review them, or something."

His eyes gave nothing away, seeming to suck in all the light in the room, though Mathias and Tyr, who knew Lukas the best could tell from the tilt of his chin and the set of his shoulders that Lukas was nervous, waiting for Mr. Holland, any of the parents, or one of the other music students to shut down his ideas, or call him stupid.

"That sounds like a good idea. We should have thought of establishing our online profile earlier." Mr. Holland mused, stroking his stubble. He had forgotten to shave the last couple of nights, due to the stress from all of this media attention. Earlier Matthias and Gilbert had teased him about it, saying that Holland was turning into a hippie.

The parents didn't raise any qualms, and the other kids just seemed excited to be internet stars.

Alfred in particular seemed thrilled to post his movies online and have someone critique them for him. Before Lukas knew it, he and Alfred were talking (a mile a minute, in Alfred's case) about Alfred directing the interviews and such for Lukas' blog, since he would have so much to do managing the message boards and the site.

Lovina wasn't paying too much attention though. Her mind was caught on something Felicia had whispered to her while everyone was talking about the blog. "Ve~ do you think Mama, Papa, and Nonno will be able to see us?" could their parents potentially see them on the blog? The more important question was probably would they even recognize their own children or care about them? Lovina was lost in her own swirling, dizzying thoughts when Alfred bounced over with Lukas trailing somewhat reluctantly behind. Antonio squeezed his arms around cute distracted Lovi unconsciously, seeing Alfred come over. He loosened his grip immediately though, and smiled warmly at the unlikely duo.

"Guys, guys, you won't believe this! Lukas and I just had an amazing idea!"

"That's nice." Francis said, unsure of why Alfred ran to _him_ to brag about his cognitive ability.

"Yeah, we were thinking of me making a documentary and him putting it on the blog!"

"What do you want the documentary to be about?" Gilbert had a feeling he knew what he was going to say. . .

"You guys, of course."

Antonio was confused. "A documentary of us doing what?"

"Oh, you know." Alfred's attitude was beginning to grate on Antonio. Of course the Spaniard realized that Alfred wanted to film the band, but what would they be doing? Did Alfred expect them to organize and plan a concert or something? Just the thought of the headache that would be logistics alone made Antonio's mouth open, ready to say 'No!' but he was distracted by Lovi turning around to face him properly. Her big eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Are you going to do it? Maybe you guys could put out a CD or something, and talk about how you met and all that crap." She seemed so hopeful, before Antonio knew what was happening, he had already agreed, along with Francis and Gilbert. Delicately, Lovina pulled herself off of Antonio's lap and went over to Felicia and pulled her away from Ludwig and Kiku with a pointed glare at Ludwig. Felicia pouted until Lovina leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Antoine? Are you even listening?" Antonio's shoulder was being jostled, bringing his attention back to his band-mates and Alfred in front of him.

"C'mon, 'Tonio, you're agreeing with the Awesome, right?"

"Oh, um, yeah sure." Maybe if he bluffed well enough the others wouldn't know he had zoned out. Francis rolled his eyes at Antonio.

The boys were about to continue talking when Mr. Holland called all of the students back with the parents.

"The reason we're gathered here is to plan and discuss fundraising to enable this music department to make the trip. As your kids have probably already told you that we got the fundraising catalogs in today." Mr. Holland shrugged. "We all know how effective that kind of fundraising is. That's why I think we should come up with other ideas and ways to raise money." The band director pulled up a couple of graphs illustrating how much each individual would need to earn, and ideally how much that would translate to a certain amount per month. It was a little daunting for Lovina to see the straight numbers. How on earth could they all make it?

"Does anyone have any other ideas?" the Hungarian girl raised her hand.

"Didn't you mention your friend hiring us to be back-up choir for their opera?"

"Yes, that's already factored into the begetting. I'm still on the phone with Cora trying to figure out the best time for you guys to start practice. Cora's doing me a huge favor, offering to pay us."

Ivan's uncle Zima suggested that the music kids could work weekends at his Winter Wonderland. It was just outside city limits, and was basically a winter-themed amusement park, with a snow maze and ice skating rink. Mr. Holland was a little suspicious why Zima suddenly had so many openings. He explained that as a small business owner he had perks on his taxes for being pro-union, though a lot of his workers also worked at Wal-Mart part-time, who made them sign a clause in their contract forbidding them from joining a union. While he was in court on behalf of his employees, he needed part timers to work during the weekend. It made as much sense as anything else Lovina had heard recently, and no one else had any objections. The parents started pitching ideas soon after, and eventually they made a list.

The one that stood out the most to Alfred and the Bad Friends was selling a CD of strictly 'American' songs as a publicity stunt and a way to fundraise. Alfred loudly announced his plan for a documentary. Mr. Holland seemed pleased and signed himself up as executive producer. Katyusha asked what that was, so Alfred explained that the executive producer was God.

This tickled the funny bones of a couple of the band cultists. Wisely, Mr. Holland dismissed the band booster meeting before they could say anything to alarm the parents.

Lovina tried to get up from Antonio's lap, but he was distracted, chattering with Francis and Gilbert about what songs to put on their new CD, and the Spaniard refused to budge his arms.

Then Alfred was over in front of them, bouncing on the balls of his feet, wondering if they could start filming today. Garen also came over to where his three trouble-makers were. (Since when did he get responsibility for Antonio and Francis?)

"Lovina, let's collect your sister and Ludwig, then we'll head home." The elderly lawyer wanted to put all of the data from tonight into his schedule, then plan and organize how his teenagers would fundraise. He could cover the cost for all of them, though he would really rather they raise it themselves, to instill a work ethic and sense of accomplishment in them.

Before the older twin could respond, Felicia tugged on his sleeve. "Ve~ Nonno Beilschmidt, didn't you remember? I've got Eva's sleepover tonight." Oh. That was a thing, wasn't it?

"Fine." Before he could continue, Alfred added his two cents.

"Hey, Grandpa Beilschmidt? Can Mattie and I come over for a couple of hours to work on the concept and film a couple interviews?" Alfred gave his best puppy-dog face, and before Garen quite knew what he was doing, he had agreed. Great, now this annoying kid and. . . . Whoever this 'Mattie' person was would be coming as well. If they thought they were staying the night, they had another think coming! He wouldn't fall that that trick again, since that was how the Bad Friends came to pretty much move in with himself and his grandsons. _Never again,_ Garen Beilschmidt vowed silently to himself, _never again_.

Antonio reluctantly let Lovi out of his arms, giving her one last squeeze (how was she so soft and comfortable?) and laughing about how she would just have to miss him for a few hours until he got back home. Them, for further measure, he kissed her on the cheek with a quick "Te Quiero." Ludwig, astute as ever, took in Lovina's embarrassment, and the look on Alfred's face, and inferred that it would be a very awkward drive home.

Unfortunately he was very right.

Once they made it to the Beilschmidt home, Lovina ditched the stick-in-the-mud (Ludwig) and Ger-san, leading Alfred and Matthew up to her room. (Yes, it was _hers_ even though Felicia had yet to sleep in her own room that Ger-san had provided for her.) Alfred's usual good humor seemed a little forced, which confused Lovina a little, but she didn't say anything. He was probably just tired from the long day at school. She sure was, so she plopped down on her bed, letting Alfred sit in the desk chair and Matthew find a spot on the floor.

This was how the Bad Friends found them when they returned one hour later.

Lovina was sprawled on her belly, hugging the pillow to her chest, nodding along to Alfred, who was explaining transition techniques he had downloaded to his laptop, demonstrating them for her using his hands and his laptop. Matthew sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, adding soft commentary to Alfred's movie lecture.

"No, seriously! Next year for the inner city film festival! You, me, Mattie, Felicia. We should make a Noir film. You could be the Mafia Lady of Mystery! It would be totally awesome!" Alfred was saying, with Matthew smirking knowingly while nodding along.

"I dunno," Lovina hedged, "What would I even do?"

Alfred laughed awkwardly. "I'll let you know once I get a script worked out. I'll give you a special budget for a big hat." He tacked on the offer at the end.

"Two hats. A 'mafia lady of mystery' can't just have one plain hat that she wears everywhere."

Alfred noticed the senior boys heading up the stairs and they stopped outside the open door. "Great! You guys are back!" Alfred bounced to his feet like an eager puppy.

"Where do you guys usually practice? I've got my notes and camera bag right here!" they agreed to go ahead and show him the garage, which he loved the ambiance of, chattering a mile minute to Matthew about where to set up the camera. Lovina sat on the couch, because watching them practice and film would be more interesting than being in her room alone, avoiding Ludwig and wondering how the sleepover was going.

"Okay, so do you guys want to do interviews first, or play music?"

"Music" all three of them said immediately, making one side of Lovina's mouth twitch before she got it under control. None of them seemed comfortable with the idea of unscripted interviews.

Alfred waved Matthew away from the camera, wanting to fiddle with it and get it set up himself.

Matthew explained to Lovina that this bit would mainly be spliced in during voiceovers and transitions. Lovina nodded along, momentarily forgetting that Matthew had been there at all. She covered quickly, hopefully before he noticed.

But just as the Italian was about to say something about her new math class where was a loud twang followed by a muffled oath. They moth looked up to see Antonio holding a hand next to his right eye. His guitar string had snapped and almost hit his eye, bringing a drop or two of blood to his cheek.

"Shit, are you okay, Antonio?" Lovina yelped, scrambling to her feet to see if he was hurt.

Antonio just chuckled. "It's fine, mi Novia. It just means that it's time to change the strings."

"It could have hit you in the _eye_! Don't just laugh it off!"

The Spaniard's eyes softened. "It's fine, mi princesa, I promise you." He took her hand and rubbed the knuckles soothingly. It took a little more reassurance, but eventually Lovina backed off, so Alfred thought it would be a great time to film Antonio's interview while he changed the strings on his guitar. Conveniently, Antonio had the spare set of strings and tools in his gig bag. Once Matthew had set up the camera, Alfred began.

"How long have you been playing guitar?" Antonio paused to think. "I first started in second grade. My Abuelo taught me on his old guitar. . . I guess that means I've been playing for an entire decade?" he seemed surprised, ending his statement as a question. Alfred seemed impressed.

"Who's your favorite American musician?"

"Hmm . . . that'd have to be Jimi Hendrix. He completely changed the way people played guitar. I was in third grade when I first heard 'purple haze'. I didn't know that it was about drugs, just that I wanted to make my guitar sound like that." Antonio's silly smile grew larger.

"Why did you join the Bad Friends Boy Band?"

"Well, all three of us came up with the idea together. I guess we were just looking for something to do. Before we knew it, the band had grown into this amazing thing." Alfred continued asking him normal interview questions until

"Why did you sign up for the Band class?" Antonio blinked, surprised. He glanced at Lovina for a second, trying to decide how to answer.

"The school guidance counselor thought that music might mellow us out. I was a bed kid. I played around with other bad kids." One more look at Lovina, then his eyes flickered back to the camera, "And we did bad things to make us feel good. Then the counselor put us in band. It was around then that I started playing guitar again." He smiled a little. "I was kind of funny when we went back and asked to join choir. I didn't think he had expected it to work out _that_ well, but we found something that we could do that made us feel good about ourselves and it didn't break the law to do it."

Antonio leaned back on the couch and ran a hand through his hair and chuckled again. "I know it sounds like one of those corny after-school specials, but it actually did help us."

Alfred leaned back in his seat, considering how to angle the interview back so it would reflect positively on the band. "Why do you think you should be allowed to go to Costa Rica?" this seemed to perk the Spaniard back up all the way. (Not that Lovina thought it looked unnatural or something when he didn't smile. And she especially wasn't glad to see the twinkle return to his eyes. What are you even trying to insinuate?)

"Because my band was chosen. I know a lot of people are angry because we were born in different places, and I'm not going to say I'm the best saxophone player in America, that would be a dick move, but I can play. And I love saxophone just as much as any other high schooler in America. Who knows how the trip will turn out, but I will not let Holland or the rest of the band down."

Dammit, why did Antonio have to go saying things like that? It made Lovina's heart flutter in a way it never had before. Damn him.

The camera turned off, and the bad friends started trying to decide what American songs to put on their CD.

"So do we want American, or A-**mur**-ican songs?" Gilbert started, putting extra emphasis on the middle syllable, trying to sound like some of the red-necks at school.

Francis shuddered delicately. "Definitely not." Antonio twirled the tool he had used to clip the strings thoughtfully. "What if we got a girl to sing one of the songs." To Alfred and Matthew he explained "One of the comments on our website that got voted to the top of the thread was asking for a featured female singer." Suddenly all male eyes were looking at Lovina.

"What?" it took her moment to realize what they were thinking. "Hell no! I'm not even in your stupid band!"

"That's why it's _featured_, duh." Gilbert rolled his eyes. Really, his cute new little sister could be dense sometimes.

"No! I don't even know those titles you were throwing around!" she crossed her arms defensively. Sure, she listened to the radio occasionally, but Lovina preferred to listen to music in her native language for the most part.

"It's fine. No one's going to ask you to have the music down cold today. Whenever we narrow down the song to three, you can pick out which one you like best, then we'll teach it to you." Gilbert said. It might even turn out to be a fun sibling bonding experience if he could get Ludwig and Felicia to add their input.

Lovina grumbled. "Only if it's a loud angry song. He'll listen, and there's no way that I'm egging him on." That dashed Antonio's plan of making mixed tapes of various love songs to give Lovi. Well, he still could, but knowing her, she'd probably take it the wrong way and insist that she was doing a break up song.

"Oh come on, Cherie, wouldn't doing a love song cement your 'relationship' with Antoine and convince . . . whatever his name is, that you're over him?" Francis tried to reason, dropping a hint in case one of the White Valley kids wanted to _finally_ say what That Guy's name was. Swear to god, if one of them called him 'he-who-must-not-be-named' he would deck that person.

"No. I tried that before, and he just thought that I was trying to say I wanted to get back with him." The Bad Friends remembered the music festival and how He had attributed Lovina's song to him "And he only just found out about Antonio. I'm not going to push the Lovey-Dovey stuff until after he's seen us around for a couple more weeks."

"Does that mean you want to go on a date?" Antonio asked hopefully.

"Not now." Alfred interjected. "So we should find a not-love-song for Lovina to sing." When the Italian girl still seemed like she was going to protest, Gilbert added,

"It'll help sell the 'fake boyfriend' story, and it'll look good on resumes, applications, or whatever that you were a featured singer on a CD."

Lovina sighed. It would be pointless to keep arguing. She made a few more protests, just so they wouldn't think that she gave in too easily. Filming resumed until Ger-san poked his head in.

"One of my clients is . . . having issues, and he requires my immediate assistance at the police station. It will probably take more than a few hours to resolve, so I'm trusting the three of you," he looked at the bad friends, "to make good choices. Don't let Lovina out of the house, and those American boys are NOT invited for dinner."

"I'm not American, I'm Canadian!" no one paid attention to Matthew's exasperated proclamation.

Lovina grumbled since she _was_ in the room, and she resented being punished for something she hadn't even done.

"Wow, what did your client even _do_?" Francis asked, curious what would warrant Garen having to tear out of the house presumably for the entire night.

"Client lawyer confidentiality." Was his clipped short answer. He left them taking care to ruffle both Gilbert and Lovina's hair and shoot warning looks at the others.

"Chigi" Lovina tried half-heartedly to fix her part. "What was that for?"

Gilbert just chuckled. "Opa does that to _all_ his grand kids. You'll get used to it soon enough."

"I'm not his grandkid!" before that argument could start; Antonio remembered that it was his turn to make dinner. When he turned the conversation to what he should make, Alfred and Matthew decided that they should head back to their home.

"So what should it be, Querida? Chicken and rice, or paella?"

"I dunno." She seemed listless once Alfred and Matthew left. Alfred always seemed like he carried all of the energy in the room around with him. Now that he had left, Lovina just felt tired after her long day.

"Okay, so what do you want to eat?"

She shrugged. "Maybe we could order in a pizza?" the bad friends kept teasing and coddling Lovina until her mood climbed back to where it usually was, which would be considered a really bad funk for everyone else, but with Lovina the were quickly learning to take their wins where they could. In the end, they ended up ordering the pizza and while they were waiting for it to arrive, Lovina's phone rang. Since she didn't recognize the phone number, she answered it and prepared to hang up, in case it was That Guy who had borrowed someone's phone.

"Hello?"

"H-hello? Um, this is Eva." A timid voice answered. Lovina blinked, surprised.

"Oh. Hi, Eva. What's up?" the bad friends leaned closer to eavesdrop.

"I just wanted to call and thank you for the present. I love it! It's very cute." Lovina hadn't gotten Eva a present.

"Um. . ."

"Felicia explained why you couldn't wrap it." Eva said. It clicked for Lovina then. Felicia must have gotten a second present for the girl and passed it off as Lovina's. She would have to remember to do something nice for her later. Out of the corner of her eye, Lovina saw Antonio take a picture with his cell phone camera. Oh well, Lovina was in too good a mood to get mad now. She'd just have to delete it later. Before Lovina could think of something to say to Eva, someone on her side of the line called her away, so Eva hung up, calling quick goodbyes over the phone to Lovina.

Once she also hung up, the boys drew her into their debate of which movie to watch. Just as they had finally decided on one, the pizza arrived. There was almost a dog pile over who got the biggest piece, but it was all straightened out soon enough.

It was just as Francis finally managed to snag the second to last slice from Antonio when his phone started ringing. He swallowed the first bite with an audible gulp and licked the rest of it to make sure that no one else would grab it.

"Oui?" he hurriedly flipped open his phone before it could go to voicemail. The French teen couldn't help but smile when he recognized his younger 'sister's' voice.

"Um . . . would you be interested in ordering an entire set of the encyclopedia Britannica?"

"Bonjour, Angelique. Did you get a part-time job recently?" One side of Francis' mouth quirked up when he heard her mumble something over the phone line.

"I – I'm sorry, sir. I don't know anybody by that name. Would you like to hear about our newest edition of encyclopedias?"

"Are you playing truth or dare?" Francis asked mildly, not playing along.

Angelique huffed. "Whenever I prank-call Arthur he plays along1 last week we talked about the TV-instruction guide and the Parasaurolophus."

"The what?"

"The TV instruction guide! You know, like how to work picture in a picture."

". . . Right. Frere is much harder to fool than stuffy old Arthur."

"You two are the same age!" the chatted a few minutes longer before she was pulled back into the game at the sleepover. Once she was off the line, Francis sent a text to Arthur.

-_just got prank-called by Angelique. You can hide it all you want, but you really do have a soft side for the children, don't you?_

A few minutes later, Francis got a reply.

-_I don't know what you're talking about. And it's Michelle. AK  
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><p>HE stood across the street paying no attention to the cool breeze that made him huddle a little in his jacket. It didn't matter that he had been standing out of sight in the shadow caused by a conveniently broken street light for hours watching her. His rage warmed his blood. From his vantage point he had been able to see her charm those three losers inside. What did that whore think she was doing, letting them paw her over like that? Hadn't he taught her that the only one allowed to touch her was him, her boyfriend? At least she hadn't gone with her sister to the house down the street. Lovina didn't need any friends. She was supposed to always be there for him. Not flounce around with freaks like that polish kid. At least it didn't look like he would have to break her out of that habit again, he mused.<p>

That old man had left a few hours ago and he was happy. That meant it was one less person to get between himself and Lovina. From his vantage point he was able to see his Romana get a phone call. At first he was furious. Why did she give her number away like some hooker on the side of the street? She was timid when answering, and he felt a wave of satisfaction realizing that she had expected it to be him.

Not yet. There were still too many people around, between him and his prize. On the one hand, he was glad of the crowds. They made it so much easier to get closer to her, and they were almost like his pawns, they would dissuade her from keeping up this music nonsense. But on the other hand, they kept a spotlight on all of those music freaks, so he couldn't take her back until they looked away.

No. he felt in his pocket, feeling the weight of his knife concealed there while he watched the albino one try to teach her how to play a video game. He wouldn't try to contact her yet. She would know when. There would be no mistake next time.


	10. Omake: FACE family night

**( A/N: This thing is 2381 words, shorter than my usual chapters [lol] but it's not a real 'chapter' per se, just an omake. This is set a few months in the future, after the band trip [ I don't think it's a spoiler to reveal that they go. That's kind of the secondary plot. The real question is how they make it.] um, is there anything else I need to point out. . . Alfred's pen-pal seems like she comes out of nowhere, but I really did plan her out beforehand. My sister and roommate both ship Alfred/ fem!Japan, so I changed that for them. I'll let you guys decide who she originally was. Btw, I LOVE the FACE family. Just so you know. Lolz. I hope you enjoy this! Think of it as a cross between a (early) Hobbit!Birthday present, and a late Halloween treat.)  
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><p>"Hey! Artie! Francis!" Alfred called, immediately separating from his brother after the bus dropped them off for band practice. The two in question were debating furiously over something or another, but put aside their argument for now since Alfred sounded upset. He pulled them aside. "I need your guy's help." His gaze flickered to Matthew who was politely (if stiffly) explaining something to Felicia who was hanging off of Ludwig's arm.<p>

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Did you two have another row?" he sighed. "What did you do to annoy Matthew now?"

"Nothing!" Alfred was a little louder than he meant, and the older boys both noticed that his eyes were a little shinier than normal.

"Calm down" Francis made soothing gestures with his hands. "Just tell frère what happened."

Alfred swallowed. "Yesterday when we got home I noticed that there was a postcard in the mail. My parents sent a birthday card from Serbia."

Both seniors winced. "Your birthdays are in July." Arthur growled.

"That's not what got Mattie so wound up." Alfred said, not meeting either of their looks. "It was only addressed to me, and at the end . . . they said that they knew it must be hard on me staying home alone without them, but they'd try to come home soon." Arthur and Francis were both speechless. Sure Alfred's mother was Matthew's step-mom, but how could either of them just forget about Matthew's existence?

"He's pissed, I can tell, but he won't talk about it to me. _Please_ mom, dad. He'll explode if he keeps it bottled in." it might have been the please that got to them, but it was probably the mom and dad. Neither of them knew which one of them was 'mom', but they were reminded that it had basically been the tow of them who had raised the only two people in band from North America.

"Oh course, Cher." Francis ran a hand through his (long, shiny, gorgeous) locks and turned to Arthur who rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I think we're long overdue for a family game night."

After practice he and Arthur herded a confused Alfred and Matthew to Francis' van.

"What are you two doing?" to a casual observer, Matthew's outburst would have sounded like pure exasperation and confusion, but the three males around him were the ones who knew him best, so they were able to pick up how upset he actually was.

"We're taking you two out. We'll go to the park, the diner, and then to the arcade." Arthurs tone left no room for argument.

Matthew huffed and glared at Alfred. "You told them about the card, didn't you?" without giving his brother a chance to answer, he turned to his parent figures.

"I'm _fine_. It doesn't matter that Dad and Stephanie forgot about me. I'm used to it. So what if the only adult who remembers my birthday is Mom? She sends me cards and letters all the time from Canada!"

"She sends them from jail." Francis pointed out gently.

Matthew twitched and Alfred's eyes went wide and started frantically making shushing gestures behind Matthew's back.

Arthur sighed. Why couldn't Francis learn any tact? After the Canadian boy's parents divorce, the father had gotten custody. A few years ago, after he had forbidden Matthew from spending Christmas with his mom, she blew up and had several rows with him over the phone. He refused to relent, and Matthew's mom threatened him. He pressed charges, and the police found drugs in her apartment. She was currently serving time in a women's prison.

"You think I don't remember that dad got my mom arrested?!"

"He didn't mean it like that, Mattie. We just want to spend some quality time with you, because you're obviously upset, and we care about you." It was very rare that Arthur used endearments with Alfred or Matthew, and it placated the Canadian boy enough for him to get in the van.

It was an unseasonably warm sunny afternoon so the park was full of families playing on the equipment, yuppies playing tennis in the courts, couples smooching under the trees, old people sunning themselves on benches or playing chess by the fountain, and health nuts jogging or running on the paths. A few people had brought their dogs, who were sniffing everything and occasionally fighting with each other.

They goofed off for a while, first feeding the ducks by the pond (Alfred pushed Arthur in, and Francis somehow pissed off a goose that chased him up a tree. It took the combined efforts of the other three to make the goose leave.), playing catch with a ball Francis rummaged from the back on the Fran-van (Alfred couldn't understand why none of the others wanted to quit so soon. The others were cursing themselves for not remembering just how hard Alfred could throw. He had never understood his own strength), and killed time until they felt hungry enough to go to the diner. All of them were relieved that no one seemed to recognize them from all of the news about 'the band of illegal immigrants that cheated their way to the international band meet'. Alfred supposed fate gave them a freebie pass every now and them to help balance the scales.

After a while, Arthur pulled Alfred aside while Francis and Matthew wandered over to the duck pond. "So how are you feeling about all this?" Alfred shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm pissed at my parents, and I'm worried about Mattie, but he's doing better now." He glanced over at Arthur. "I'll tell Francis too, but it'd really mean a lot it you two could stop fighting tonight." He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. "You know what a bleeding heart he his."

Arthur rapped his ear gently, "Don't call your brother that. If you would stop getting into fights he would stop getting you out of them. And I won't start anything tonight if Francis doesn't."

"C'mon, Artie, you know the kids hate it when mommy and daddy fight." He grinned and dodged Arthur's playful slug on the arm. The Brit talked the talk, and he definitely prided himself on being a gentleman, but Alfred knew that deep down Arthur loved fighting just as much as Alfred did.

They goofed around for a bit more before Francis whistled for them, trying to herd them into the Fran-van. On the way to the diner, they chatted about the documentary Alfred was making. The diner was a relic from the fifties that Arthur and Francis wouldn't normally touch with a ten foot pole because of the (deplorable, fattening) food and the (ugly as sin, tacky) décor. The North Americans loved it however, because of the jukebox, the secret burger recipe, and the all-day breakfast menu with real maple syrup, so they telepathically decided to grin and bear it. Alfred and Matthew slid eagerly into a booth by the window. Arthur eyed the worn greasy looking vinyl apprehensively before sitting with his innate grace, and Francis shuddered slightly before sitting stiffly, letting no unnecessary part of his clothing touch the dirty fabric more than he could help it.

The waitress was a friend of Katyusha's boyfriend who gave Francis a tentative smile while she took their orders. Alfred and Matthew ordered their usual. (Hamburger and fries with a chocolate shake, and the pancake breakfast with orange juice). Arthur got potatoes au gratin which made Francis smirk (the younger two assumed it was some kind of in-joke and didn't question it) and was relieved to see tea on the drink menu.

"Sweet or un-sweet?" the waitress asked. Her name tag identified her as Mary-Beth and Arthur blinked at her confused before answering tentatively. "Unsweet. And no milk or lemon, please."

Now it was Mary-Beth's turn to be confused, but she wrote down his order. Francis and Alfred glanced at each other them bit their lips. It would be amusing when the drinks came. Matthew was staring at something out the window, eyes fixed on nothing in particular. When Mary-Beth dropped off the drinks, she was called away to another table before Arthur could form words. Since she wasn't there to complain to, Arthur gestured to his drink and asked Francis

"What is this?"

"Your tea, mon petit lapin." It was a testament to Arthur's shock that he let the stupid pet-name slide.

"But why is there _ice_ in there?"

"It's iced tea. Really, Arthur, you've been living in America for years. Haven't you figured out how they make tea yet?" Francis let the barb slip accidentally. He hadn't meant to fight with Arthur in front of Matthew today. Thankfully, Arthur didn't raise to the bait for once, but stared in horror at his iced tea.

"That's barbaric!"

Alfred couldn't hold himself back anymore and started laughing. This broke whatever tension was left between them.

Eventually the conversation drifted to Alfred's pen pal he had gotten in middle school. Alfred bored them all with a long talk about how he and Sakura had started playing a Portal 2 co-op together on-line. Apparently she was the brains of the operation, to no one's surprise.

"Um, so what should we do next?" Matthew asked while he painstakingly buttered his pancakes and applied liberal amounts of pure genuine maple syrup to his meal, Arthur and Francis both paused. Arthur's brothers might be home, and Francis didn't have board games or anything like that. Alfred perked up.

"Oh! They got a couple of new machines at the arcade on States Avenue!" Alfred seemed excited, and Matthew was at least interested, so Arthur and Francis agreed. It was at least some kind of game, and they supposed that family game night didn't necessarily have to be with board games.

The boardwalk was just starting to come to life in the dusky twilight. Tourists was staring, taking pictures, and getting their pockets picked. Carnival lights were flashing, street performers were warming up, and the air was fresh with the smell of grease and frying foods. Since it was a nice night, and there was a change machine about half-way down the board walk, the four decided to wander around and enjoy the sights. Arthur and Matthew were examining a dunking booth when Alfred noticed Francis wave at someone. When he looked across the way his breath caught for a moment.

Antonio and Lovina were also taking a walk, the three dogs staying close by with their eyes and ears constantly roaming around. Lovina was turned away, though Antonio spotted Francis and Alfred. He smiled and waved, not paying attention to the hundreds of people between them on the dock. Francis used gestures and facial expressions to ask if Antonio and Lovina wanted to meet up with them, but Antonio just grinned wider and shook his head. He tapped on Lovina's shoulder and gestured to a funnel cake he was carrying. She turned her famous red and shook her head violently. Instead of being deterred, Antonio's grin just grew wider and he kept coaxing until she relented and stole a bite, her head darting forward and back fast, like an animal stealing a handout.

Antonio's smile practically blinded most of the people around him. Lovina hesitantly smiled back, and Antonio led them away. Francis patted Alfred's arm. "Do you still have a crush on her, Cher?" the question was oddly gentle.

"Nah, I mean, I'm mostly over her. Besides, if Antonio's who she wants, then it'll just have to be my job to kick is ass if he ever hurts her. Anyway, lately Sakura's been dropping hints." His cheeks colored and he looked away.

Thankfully, Francis dropped it and the group headed to the arcade. Alfred grabbed Matthew by the elbow and drug him to a shooting zombie game, cackling evilly. Arthur and Francis didn't think too much of it, until the kill score rose dramatically when both boys got into it.

"C'mon, Mattie! Grab the higher ground and get me some cover fire!"

"I don't see you helping! For heaven's sake, drop your melee and grab the shotgun!" Matthew snapped back at his brother.

"Um. . . did something happen at school you want to tell us about?" Arthur ventured. He was met with two blank states. Finally Matthew spoke up.

"Uh, I made a B on my math test today? I guess I could have done better, but Feliks was annoying. Why?"

Francis chuckled. "No reason."

If you asked Matthew, he would tell you that he was annoyed with his family for nosing in and making him go through this family game night. That was a lie. Matthew always had fun if he was with his brother, or Francis and Arthur, who were like a strange combination of older brothers and parents. Having them all together like this was a blast. The guilty amounts of attention they paid him was also a nice change and oddly reassuring. Matthew was dreading having to go back to that too big empty house with Alfred and see that ugly birthday card that was thrown in disgust on the coffee table.

Matthew clanked at his wrist watch and grimaced. The arcade would be closing, and them Arthur would start making noises about sending everyone home since they had school tomorrow. Arthur followed his gaze. "It looks like we have time for one more game." He caught the slightly exasperated look from Francis and defended himself.

"Tomorrow is a school day! Who's going to set a good example for the boys if we don't?"

Francis shrugged his shoulders elegantly but gave up the argument with a sigh.

"Fine them. Let's do this one." Francis drug Arthur by the elbow to a two person operated crane game. While Alfred egged them on and heckled them, and Matthew laughed, Alfred wished he had his camera with him, that way he could record this memory and keep it forever and show it to all of those jerks who insisted that Arthur and Francis were like oil and water.

At the end of the evening, Arthur and Francis had successfully gotten a large polar bear stuffed animal and had given it to Matthew, who couldn't seem to remember just what he wanted to call the thing.

It was a good night


End file.
